{"id":599278,"date":"2021-08-16T06:46:40","date_gmt":"2021-08-16T10:46:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/?p=599278"},"modified":"2021-08-16T06:46:40","modified_gmt":"2021-08-16T10:46:40","slug":"tottenham-hotspur-manchester-city","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2021\/08\/16\/tottenham-hotspur-manchester-city\/","title":{"rendered":"Tottenham Hotspur Show Resilience and Unity to Edge Past Manchester City in Opener"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tottenham Hotspur proved to be the thorn in the side of Manchester City<\/a> once again as they defeated last season\u2019s champions 1-0 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.<\/p>\n

Son Heung-min\u2019s second-half strike was the difference on the Premier League\u2019s opening weekend, with most of the attention of this fixture drawn towards the uncertain future of Harry Kane<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The England captain was left out of the Spurs squad altogether due to a lack of match fitness, meaning Son was thrust into action as the focal point of Esp\u00edrito Santo\u2019s team.<\/p>\n

The South Korean popped up with yet another goal against Pep Guardiola\u2019s side, stepping into the spotlight to round off a dogged and resilient performance against the reigning champions.<\/p>\n

Resilient Tottenham Hotspur Down Manchester City in Opener<\/h2>\n

Tottenham\u2019s Attacking Trio Cause City Problems<\/h3>\n

Throughout pre-season, Nuno typically used a front three to spearhead his attacking unit. The absence of Kane meant Son was deployed centrally, with wingers Steven Bergwijn and Lucas Moura either side of him.<\/p>\n

The trio possess a frightening amount of pace, and they used that to great effect during the victory, once Spurs managed to grab a foothold in proceedings after a shaky opening 15 minutes.<\/p>\n

Both Moura and Bergwijn were tireless in their pressing and used plenty of darting runs through the heart of midfield to push the City defence back \u2013 who themselves struggled to handle Spurs on the counter.<\/p>\n

The trio\u2019s work was rewarded on 55 minutes, when Son\u2019s delightful curling effort broke the deadlock. Moura\u2019s clever flick around Fernandinho on the edge of the Spurs box set Bergwijn free to counter. The rest of the work was all down to Son, who shifted away from Nathan Ake before firing a low effort past Ederson, who may have been put off by a blocking attempt by Ruben Dias.<\/p>\n

A packed Tottenham Hotspur Stadium was almost celebrating again minutes later when Bergwijn raced through on the City goal after Moura had cleverly slipped him in, but he could only send his effort into the side netting.<\/p>\n

Youngsters Japhet Tanganga and Oliver Skipp Make a Lasting Impression<\/h3>\n

Despite Spurs reportedly accepting a loan bid from Galatasaray for Japhet Tanganga<\/a>, the academy graduate has vowed to fight for a place in Nuno\u2019s side this season<\/a>, and his performance will have laid down a strong marker.<\/p>\n

Tanganga, effectively \u2018did a job\u2019 on the likes of Raheem Sterling and Jack Grealish<\/a> throughout the course of the game, managing to disrupt their usual direct style of play. The 22-year-old did receive a stern final warning from referee Anthony Taylor for persistent fouling, with Spurs captain Hugo Lloris also called over to the conversation.<\/p>\n

But after that talking-to, Tanganga escaped without a booking and lasted until 83 minutes before being substituted to a rendition of \u201che\u2019s one of our own\u201d<\/a> from the Spurs faithful – who typically, and exclusively use the chant for the absent Kane.<\/p>\n

Tanganga, though, wasn\u2019t the only academy graduate to shine against City, with Oliver Skipp presenting his case for consistent minutes under Esp\u00edrito Santo. Fresh off a loan in the Championship with Norwich City<\/a>, Skipp was kept busy and looked to disrupt City\u2019s flow in his own way.<\/p>\n

Skipp was placed alongside the ever-present Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Dele Alli, who also put in a mammoth defensive shift after Spurs took the lead, in what is likely to be a season of redemption for the 25-year-old.<\/p>\n

England U21 international Skipp proved to be unfazed by the likes of Grealish and Ilkay Gundogan threatening in possession, as he made sensible challenges while emerging with the ball. But simply, Skipp kept Spurs moving when they had possession \u2013 ticking the play over which allowed Spurs to hit City on the counter time and again.<\/p>\n

The Nuno Esp\u00edrito Santo era could not have started any better at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.<\/p>\n

Main Photo
\nEmbed from Getty Images<\/a>