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LONDON: Tottenham Hotspur rose to the top of the Premier League after a classic José Mourinho-inspired performance clinched a 2-0 win over Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City on Saturday.
Half-time goals from Son Heung-min and substitute Giovani lo Celso secured three points and a fourth consecutive league win for Spurs, who are two points ahead of second-placed Chelsea.
Mourinho’s men took the lead in the fifth minute as Son circled the City defense to latch onto a perfect, high pass over the top from Tanguy Ndombele and slide the ball through the legs of Ederson’s forward for the South Korea’s ninth league. goal of the season.
Harry Kane shoved the ball into the net in the 13th minute, passing Son’s goal at the end of a great play, but the effort was negated for offside.
City were frustrated when Aymeric Laporte drove home after Gabriel Jesus cheated on him, but referee Mike Dean, after checking the courtside monitor, ruled that the Brazilian had driven.
The visitors enjoyed most of the possession without threatening the goal too often, while the well-organized Spurs stayed compact and looked to attack at halftime.
That turned out to be a wise tactic when Lo Celso, just 35 seconds after being introduced from the bench, was found by Kane and kept his cool to dodge Ederson, who had once again sprinted from his goal.
Spurs goalkeeper Hugo Lloris did well in the last minute to avoid a Ruben Dias header and City stayed behind to reflect a result that left them adrift in 10th place, eight points behind Tottenham.
The victory was the first time Mourinho has enjoyed back-to-back victories over former rival Guardiola, but he was quick to downplay comments about his team as title contenders, noting that they would lose first place if Leicester City win Liverpool on Sunday.
“It feels good (to be at the top), but maybe tomorrow we will be second again and honestly, that wouldn’t be a problem for me, I’m happy with the evolution,” said Mourinho.
“People can’t wait for us to come here and after one season we are fighting for the title. We are not fighting for the title, we are just fighting to win every game. But we are going to lose games, we are going to draw games, “he added.
Guardiola took a different point of view.
“They are the best in the league, so they are more title contenders than anyone at the moment. There are many teams in front of us, ”he said.
“I think we are not far, very far (from the best of us), but we are struggling to score goals right now. Ten goals in nine games is not enough ”, added the Spaniard.
