Tottenham suffered a 1-0 defeat to champions Manchester City on a poor surface at Wembley on Monday night. Here are five things we learned from the game.
Po-faced
Mauricio Pochettino admitted beforehand that this season has left him enduring his “worst feeling” as Tottenham manager, having overseen a disastrous start to their Champions League campaign and the opening of their new stadium being put back until 2019. A win over City would have given him a lift as Spurs would have moved above the title favourites. But this defeat will surely only darken his mood further.
Pitch imperfect
Tottenham still being homeless meant they had to face City at Wembley, only 24 hours after the national stadium hosted the NFL game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Jacksonville Jaguars. The pitch, with yard lines and logo still visible, resembled a ploughed field in parts. BBC Radio 5 live pundit Chris Sutton branded it like “a non-league surface”. Erik Lamela will probably point to the pitch for his late miss which would have been a handy field goal.
City still slick
City merely took the pitch out of the equation for their opening touchdown, sorry, goal. Ederson punted it long and Kieran Trippier missed the header, allowing Raheem Sterling to dart around his England team-mate and cut the ball back for Riyad Mahrez to sweep home. The former Leicester winger pointed his fingers to the sky in celebration in memory of Foxes owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, who died in Saturday’s helicopter crash.
Silva service
No matter how bobbly the pitch was it seemed to make absolutely no difference to David Silva – just think George Best on some of the 1970s mudbaths that your grandfather told you about. The Spaniard simply glided around Wembley, bossing the midfield and proving once again what a fabulous player he is – apart from two yards out of goal when he could not find his footing and had to pass sideways.
Cup quandary
Pochettino faces the ultimate test of juggling his limited resources with Tottenham’s hectic schedule seeing them face a London derby at West Ham in the Carabao Cup in just two days’ time. With Spurs still trophyless since Pochettino took over, the Argentinian has to decide whether to stick with a strong side at the London Stadium or rest his big names and risk another chance of silverware slipping through their fingers.