The former Liverpool defender labelled Spurs’ performance as ’embarrassing’.
Jose Mourinho got one over his long-term rival Pep Guardiola thanks to goals from new signing Steven Bergwijn and Son Heung-min.
Manchester City lost Oleksandr Zinchenko just three minutes before Spurs’ opening goal and Nicol slammed Tottenham’s performance before the sending off.
He said: “This game, up until the sending off, was embarrassing I thought for Tottenham because they were completely and utterly made to look subpar. That’s what they were until Zinchenko gets sent off. It’s a goal from nowhere [the first one]. They haven’t cut anybody open.”
“They can’t keep robbing everybody every time they step on the field. That’s all they’re doing. The points they’re picking up are robbery. I can’t remember the last time they had a decent performance. They’ve had spells in games where they’ve played well but this today was embarrassing,” he said.
Guardiola’s men were all over Tottenham with respect to attacking stats. The Citizens had 18 shots at goal, maintained 68% of the possession and completed more than twice as many passes as Spurs.
However, the number of goals is what matters at the end of the day and Mourinho’s side scored twice in their three attempts. Spurs will definitely have to improve to secure a top-four finish but they are in a good position at the moment.
Tottenham are just four points behind fourth-placed Chelsea. The Blues are struggling in the league having won just one of their last five games.
The two London rivals will face each other in about three weeks and that game alone could very much determine who makes it into the Champions League next season and who doesn’t.
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