Premier League 2016/17: Tottenham vs Manchester City – tactical analysis

There was an exciting tactical battle between Mauricio Pochettino and Pep Guardiola back in 2016. As the new manager of Manchester City, Guardiola suffered his first loss in the Premier League at White Hart Lane in October that year. It might have been a little surprising as City had had a very strong start in that season  unbeaten and won their first 10 games out of 11.

However, Tottenham’s young and energetic squad gave Manchester City a very, very tough task. With the strong defensive displays, Tottenham quickly scored two in the first half, one through Aleksandar Kolarov’s own goal and the other one from Dele Alli.

In this tactical analysis, we will show you how Pochettino’s team beat Guardiola’s City in the Premier League. It is an analysis that focuses on the tactics of both teams.

Lineups

Tottenham played in a 4-4-1-1 formation. Their full-backs, Kyle Walker and Danny Rose were incredibly energetic and dominated the flanks. The team sheet placed Christian Eriksen as the partner of Victor Wanyama behind Alli while Moussa Sissoko played as the right-winger. In fact, the positionings were flexible at both ends, and we will explain the setups later.

After the 3-3 draw at Scotland, Guardiola started a slightly conservative team due to the absence of Kevin De Bruyne. Fernando played as the sole pivot, with David Silva and Fernandinho in front of him. It was a 4-3-3 formation in general.

Pressing traps

The key for Tottenham’s early dominance was their press. Pochettino cleverly set a pressing trap to make City’s build-ups very difficult. There were a few considerations when arranging the duties, as Eriksen should be kept as the main man offensively, and the duties of him should be light. By positioning Sissoko near the midfield, Tottenham pressed in a narrow 4-3-1-2, with Alli joining Heung-min Son at the highest line.

The pressings were almost perfect in that game. It required a lot of training and stamina, and important pressing concepts such as covering shadows were involved. In general, the return pass to Claudio Bravo triggered the press from Alli, whose run had to cover John Stones in the meantime. The major duty of Eriksen was to man-mark Fernando, who was a less mobile player. Son was the other player to jump to another centre-back, who was usually Nicolás Otamendi. Wanyama often stayed at the centre, protecting the central third and securing the second balls.

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