Garth Crooks praises Tottenham trio following Manchester City victory; comments on Kyle Walker’s form

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Mauricio Pochettino’s men moved to within a point of the Premier League summit following their victory.

Garth Crooks

Garth Crooks has told BBC Sport that Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen’s partnership was crucial to Tottenham Hotspur’s win over Manchester City on Sunday, and labelled Kyle Walker’s current form as scary.

Mauricio Pochettino’s men brought Pep Guardiola’s unbeaten start to life in charge of the Citizens to an end with a 2-0 win at White Hart Lane with Aleksandar Kolarov putting past his own keeper before Dele Alli doubled the lead just before the break.

Tottenham’s Toby Alderweireld celebrates after the game

But it was perhaps the contribution of the defenders that inspired Spurs to the three points as they kept a side that before the weekend had scored more goals than any other team in the top flight this season, at bay. And Crooks praised the centre-back pairing for their display in the win.

“The main reason [for the win] was due to the performance of the two centre-backs, Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld,” he told BBC Sport.

Tottenham’s Jan Vertonghen

“I would never have believed that Spurs could have kept a clean sheet against City the way they have been playing this season under Pep Guardiola.”

But it was not just the Belgian pair who earned the former Spurs man’s praise, as Crooks also commented on Walker’s recent form.

“I don’t think I saw Manchester City winger Jesus Navas go past Walker once in the 65 minutes he was on the pitch, and eventually Walker saw him off,” he added.

Manchester City’s Jesus Navas in action with Tottenham’s Kyle Walker

“Walker is so full of running and confidence at the moment it’s scary.”

Crooks named the three men in his Team of the Week, and they could arguably have been joined by teammate Danny Rose.

It was the left-back who put in the wonderful cross that led to the opening goal, so it is fair to say that he also deserves praise for his contribution in the victory.

And if the quartet can maintain their form in the coming months, it will surely be extremely difficult for any team to stop Spurs battling for the title.