The Catalan was left frustrated while adding that the opposition followed their gameplan perfectly
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola reflected on how his side failed to break down Tottenham on Saturday, adding that Spurs played in a manner that is very reflective of manager Jose Mourinho.
Mourinho and Spurs got the last laugh on Guardiola’s side, taking down the visitors 2-0 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Spurs took the lead early though Son Heung-min, who fired home within five minutes thanks to a City defensive lapse.
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After both sides saw a goal waved off in the first half, substitute Giovani Lo Celso all but sealed the points in the 65th minute, putting Spurs 2-0 ahead for good.
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City maintained 67 per cent of the possession while outshooting their opponents 22-4 but failed to truly break down the Spurs defence.
And, after the match, Guardiola lamented his side’s inability to create in the final third while praising Spurs for a typical Mourinho performance.
“It could be better, we played similar to how have all season. We did not defend good for the first goal. They then defended so deep, they defended with six and it was not easy,” Guardiola told BBC Match of the Day.
“We had our chances, but we couldn’t score and they made two or three chances on the counterattack and we lost the game.
“We knew before the game that you cannot give them the first goal. We had more chances than them but we lost. Mourinho’s teams are like this, you make a mistake and they punish you on the counterattack.
“It is not easy, Harry Kane and Ndombele are on halfway, the space is so difficult, our possession play was good, but football is the boxes and that is where we were not good.”
With the loss, City sit 10th in the league, while Spurs move atop the Premier League for the time being.
City will now look ahead to a trip to Greece as they take on Olympiacos in the Champions League as they sit atop their group with nine points from three games.
Spurs, meanwhile, are off until Thursday when they will face Ludogorets at home in the Europa League.
