Ilkay Gundogan believes Tottenham Hotspur’s ‘ruthless’ counter-attacking made the difference during their Harry Kane-inspired victory over the Premier League leaders, speaking to Manchester City’s official website.
In November 2020, as Harry Kane bullied Aymeric Laporte and Ruben Dias into submission during a 2-0 victory over Man City at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Gary Neville went as far as to compare the England captain to the legendary Zinedine Zidane.
One suspects, after Kane repeated the trick during a dramatic evening at the Etihad, that even the usually-impassive Zidane would have puffing out his cheeks and nodding in approval, the Tottenham captain producing a performance for the ages in front of a rueful Pep Guardiola.
It was the sort of display that reminds everyone just what a remarkable footballer this is. Not only one of the greatest finishers in the modern game – Kane took both of his goals with an almost sadistic ruthlessness – but also a remarkable creator of chances.
An architect and an assassin rolled into one.
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Kane will dominate the headlines of course. Though there should be plenty of column inches dedicated to Heung-Min Son and Dejan Kulusevski too.
Kane may be Tottenham’s cape-wearing superhero. But, as Spurs broke a run of three straight Premier League defeats in stunning style, his trusty sidekicks also made their mark.
“I think we (played) a good game and we created a lot of chances. We played well, better than the scoreline says,” sighs a disappointed Gundogan at full-time.
“Tottenham did well to control these types of situations. They timed their runners well and were ruthless on the counterattack.
“They were able to score three goals and that shows their quality up front. I think it was difficult because we made it difficult for ourselves.”
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Hugo Lloris, after an early error, made an outstanding save to deny Gundogan in the second half.
Eric Dier was magnificent upon his return from injury too. Christan Romero’s performance, meanwhile, was a reminder as to why he was named Serie A’s Defender of the Year last season.
“I remember Tottenham defending so deep,” Gundogan adds. “The risk was quite minimal for us in a lot of situations.
“But if you give them the ball easily and they are on the counter-attack, you have to sprint back 50 or 60 metres.
“I think that made them feel that there is something to earn here today, especially after scoring the first goal.”
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