Closed passing lanes and Guardiola’s adjustments that weren’t enough! Analysis of Manchester City vs Tottenham
Tottenham secured a well-deserved victory over Manchester City, as Thomas Frank continues to establish himself among the elite managers. In this analysis, we won’t focus on what everyone already noticed—the Spurs’ superiority in high pressing or their composure in build-up play. Instead, we’ll dive into Tottenham’s low block and how they managed to shut down Manchester City.
We’ll then look at Pep Guardiola’s adjustments in an attempt to get his team back on track.
No passing lanes between the lines…
It was clear from Manchester City’s structure that the focus was on exploiting the spaces between the lines, with three players positioned against only two from Tottenham. Yet, despite this numerical advantage, City failed to make any real use of it. To understand why, we need to look at the roles of Tottenham’s players.
When the ball was in the central areas:
Richarlison and Sarr closed the central channels while pressing Díaz and Nico.
Bentancur and Palhinha stayed just behind the front two, shutting down the spaces
When the ball shifted to the left side:
Palhinha tracked Reijnders closely, even if he decided to drop deeper.
Bentancur followed Cherki as he tried to exploit the space behind Palhinha.
Johnson tucked inside with Lewis, who moved closer to the ball
When the ball moved to the right side:
Johnson closed the passing lane towards Stones.
Bentancur quickly dropped back to mark Lewis and cover for Johnson.
Palhinha was expected to step closer to Cherki, but he didn’t—as we’ll see.
It could be said that there was an opportunity to find Cherki in this situation, but the pass was risky and unreliable, so the team avoided it.
Because City failed to find openings, Stones was constantly forced either to recycle possession backwards or to play out wide to Bob in a 1v2 situation, with Bentancur tightly marking Lewis in the half-spaces. This left Bob with only one option—playing back—allowing Tottenham to step up their press and push City back.
City’s main idea was to keep circulating the ball from side to side, looking to eventually open a gap between the lines and exploit it. But this plan completely failed, apart from a single occasion in the first half.
Here we see Richarlison and Sarr pressing Nico and Díaz, while Palhinha tracked Reijnders and Bentancur followed Cherki. When the play was switched to Stones’ side, Cherki was surrounded and almost impossible to reach, leaving no real options except passing to Bob, isolated against Johnson and Spence.
The first time City managed to bypass Tottenham’s defensive structure in the first half—despite their solid organization—came through quick ball circulation and Reijnders pushing up as an extra option on the right instead of Cherki.
This movement finally gave City the long-awaited pass between the lines, but it led to nothing as Cherki’s subsequent pass was intercepted.
This was exactly what City were trying to achieve. Here, we see an exchange between Cherki and Nico, with Palhinha and Bentancur keeping close tabs on Reijnders and Nico between the lines.
Reijnders then tried to drag Palhinha wide to open up the passing lane between the lines. Although the movement worked, Reijnders’ decision that followed was poor.
Once again, Reijnders tried to drag Palhinha away to free up space in the middle, but Cherki was late in returning to his position.
Even if he had been there, it would have been difficult to reach him with both Sarr and Richarlison blocking the central channels. After the sideways pass, Tottenham immediately stepped out to press.
With Bentancur and Palhinha matched up against Cherki and Reijnders respectively, City decided to switch play to the opposite side. Cherki moved across, positioning himself behind Johnson, who had stepped up with Lewis. This forced Bentancur into a difficult situation—either to cover the central space or to track him. Amid this confusion in Tottenham’s shape and with a defender stepping out to cover, City had a real chance to exploit the situation—but Stones slipped.
So even when the opportunity finally presented itself, the decisions and execution let City down.
Although Manchester City’s tactical idea looked excellent and perfectly designed to achieve its purpose, Tottenham defended superbly—especially by using City’s horizontal passes as pressing triggers. As a result, City were unable to gain much from those ideas.
Guardiola’s Adjustments…
Guardiola decided to make adjustments at half-time in an attempt to unlock Tottenham’s defense, focusing on building attacks down the right without circulating the ball horizontally at the start of possession (to neutralize Tottenham’s pressing). This was done by dropping Nico deeper while positioning Cherki either in front of or alongside Bentancur on the right side.
The aim was to consistently find a vertical pass into Cherki, who could then connect with Lewis or even Bob out wide.
Or to pin Bentancur when Lewis drifted wide, creating the option to receive the ball behind Johnson.
With Cherki’s new positioning, Bob was now able to find consistent 1v1 situations, thanks to having three players on the flank (Bob–Cherki–Lewis) instead of just two as in the first half (Bob–Lewis). This allowed Johnson to stay wider on the touchline alongside Spence.
Instead of circulating the ball across to Díaz and giving Tottenham the chance to press, Cherki positioned himself next to Bentancur. Here, however, Nico played directly to Bob. Even though Cherki was a bit late, Bob still found more space to dribble than he had in the first half.
Here we see an exchange between the midfield trio, but the idea remained the same: focusing on the right side to find the pass between the lines before releasing Bob in a 1v1. City managed to reach the box, but the final decisions let them down.
Once again, Cherki received in front of Bentancur and the ball was worked to Bob in a 1v1, driving Tottenham back into their box with Cherki providing support—but he lost possession.
Once again, after Cherki had been substituted out, Reijnders stepped into the same role. We can see Bentancur late to press Lewis behind Johnson due to Reijnders’ positioning. However, Lewis’ pass to Bob was not the optimal solution.
Once again, Lewis received behind Johnson, with Bentancur unable to step out and press him. This allowed Bob to get the ball in a 1v1, as Johnson was occupied with Reijnders. Bob drove into the box but ultimately failed to beat his man.
It could be said that Pep’s changes gave City a measure of control, as the ball circulation across the pitch stopped, depriving Tottenham of easier pressing triggers. This also created better attacking situations, with Bob repeatedly finding 1v1 opportunities and pushing Spurs back into their own box. However, City ultimately failed to capitalize on these situations, especially as they continued to struggle against Tottenham’s high press, which made reaching the final third more complicated than usual.
The End…
In the end, there is no debate about Tottenham deserving the victory. Yet City perhaps merited at least a goal—whether in the early stages of the match or in the second half after Guardiola’s adjustments. What remains clear is that Guardiola still needs to refine the system, especially after the arrivals of Reijnders and Cherki, who are likely more accustomed to a freer, more fluid style—something that Guardiola’s structure does not naturally provide.