Match Report: Familiar Foe Aguero Puts End to Spurs Season

In a fixture which has seen 17 goals over the last 3 meetings, with Manchester City coming out on top as comfortable victors on each occasion, a solitary goal this time around sufficed as sufficient winning margin over Tottenham - but although the outcome of the match remained the same, this was by no means as straightforward. 

This match came shortly after Chelsea had dethroned City to become the Premier League champions, following victory at home against Crystal Palace. Without a great deal resting on this match, it still proved to be an exciting and open affair, and at certain times extremely end-to-end. 

Mauricio Pochettino’s side started the brighter, his high intensity pressing philosophy has become more prominent as the season has progressed, with even flamboyant wingers such as Nacer Chadli and Erik Lamela putting in a great deal of effort in order to execute his game plan, even if he or Jesus Perez took to their feet from time to time to make sure of it. Tottenham should have taken the lead in the first few minutes, as Eric Dier missed a clear chance from a corner and Harry Kane threatened shortly after, breaching City’s high line but only to fire an effort wide of the mark. 

The most controversial moment in the match came in the 22nd minute after a slip from Hugo Lloris, Sergio Aguero finding himself inside the box, pulling away from Federico Fazio only to be tripped by the defender - or so he thought - as the assistant signalled for a goal kick. Pellegrini may well have been aggrieved if the result did not go his way, as Danny Rose also lunged in to challenge for the ball only to take out Pablo Zabaleta in the 78th minute, a seemingly clear penalty waved away by the officials. 

Spurs dictated much of the match in the first half hour, although City did show signs of potentially stealing a goal with the quality they possessed in the final third. This was soon to the case as they broke through with an incisive break in the 29th minute. David Silva’s pass found Aguero, the Argentinian blasting the ball home to claim his 22nd goal of the season, asserting his claim towards the golden boot with his 8th goal in his last 4 games against Tottenham. Silva’s through ball was his 15th of the season (with no player managing more), contributing towards Man City’s 8th counter attacking goal of the season, the most in the league. 

The 2nd half saw the former champions play with more distinction, taking a firmer grip of the game, causing the home crowd to grow ever more frustrated. Aguero proved to be a handful for Spurs’ defence throughout the match and nearly added a double following a masterful run gliding past defenders only for his attempt to be fired wayward as he rounded the keeper at the end of the move. 

Tottenham may be a step too far from Champions League qualification but they still maintained a professional approach as they went in search of an equaliser in the second half. They carried on creating chances but lacked the clinical edge that City possessed in the final third. "I am very disappointed with the result, but the performance was very good," Pochettino explained. 

Aleksandar Kolarov may have claimed the man of the match award but Joe Hart deserves ample credit, stopping Mason from close distance, with Kane and Paulinho also denied. Kolarov has been behind Gaël Clichy in the left-back pecking order at City, but he has softened the blow of the Frenchman's injury, claiming the WhoScored MotM accolade for the 2nd consecutive match, this time with a rating of 8.98. Managing the most touches (85), joining the attack as often as possible - including testing Lloris on 2 separate occasions - and helping his team secure a clean sheet with 8 interceptions and 3 tackles. 

Reflecting on this season and Chelsea’s success, Manuel Pellegrini claimed that his side managed to match Mourinho’s feat of the double last season, doing so in a far more attractive style. Speaking on Chelsea’s style of football he stated that it was "important for the Premier League and for the fans to play attractive football", also adding "Tottenham play attractive football and so do we. That’s why we saw an attractive game. Chelsea did exactly what we did last season, winning the Premier League and the Capital One cup. We did it by scoring more goals and by playing in a different style. We scored 156 goals; 102 in the league. And [this season] we continue to be the top scorers."

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