The 26th game week of the 2021-22 EPL season saw defending champions and league leaders Manchester City host Tottenham Hotspur at the Etihad stadium. The match lived up to the Conte-Pep tactical battle hype with the Italian’s side managing to produce one of the finest displays of the season and clinch three points against their opponents.
It was a roller-coaster experience for the fans which replicated the games between the two sides in the previous seasons and also featured some interesting tactical approaches and shifts from both the teams.
This article features the tactical analysis of the game and discusses the tactics used by both the teams and how Antonio Conte managed to get one over Pep Guardiola. Let’s begin the analysis.
Lineups
Manchester City made two changes to the lineup that beat Sporting CP in the last midweek with Riyad Mahrez and John Stones making way for Ilkay Gundogan and Kyle Walker respectively.
Antonio Conte meanwhile, made four changes to the lineup that was defeated against Wolves with Kulusevski making his first start for the club instead of Lucas Moura and Eric Dier, Emerson Royal and Hojberg being drafted into the lineup for Davinson Sanchez, Matt Doherty and Harry Winks.
Antonio Conte’s plan with possession tears City apart
Antonio Conte’s reign at Tottenham have so far been mixed where the Italian has shown some signs of improving the squad with a proper tactical plan and blueprint while there were results and performances where it was seen that the squad still needs time to get them adapted to his needs. But at Etihad, it was clear from the first minute that they were ready to execute the tactical plan.
