Manchester City: Three Takeaways From 2-2 Draw Against Tottenham
By Dan Larsen
Despite being level on the scoreline, Manchester City were miles better than Spurs on Saturday.
The first key takeaway from Saturday’s game was that Manchester City were miles better than Tottenham were, even though the game finished as a draw.
City absolutely had their way with Spurs for much of the afternoon. City outshot Spurs 30-3, and had ten shots on target compared to just two for Spurs. The 56-44% possession stat really masks just how one-sided this affair was.
xG map for City - Spurs
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In the first-half, City kept Spurs pinned in their own third, and created chance after chance. Tottenham were lucky to be down just one goal at half-time given the ridiculous amount of high quality chances City were creating.
In the second-half, Spurs settled a bit more into the game, but still failed to create much of anything in open play. City, on the other hand, had several more high quality chances, but were unable to put Spurs to the sword. Their profligacy in front of goal burned them.
Regardless of the result, it was jarring to see Manchester City looking several levels above, what should be, a fellow title-contender this season. On a different afternoon, where they had taken their chances better, City would have won by four or five goals. They were that dominant in all facets of the game.