Win over Manchester City no Jose Mourinho masterclass: Pundits
Jose Mourinho pulled off his first big win as Tottenham Hotspur manager, but several pundits believe it was not the result of him tactically outfoxing his old rival Pep Guardiola.
Steven Bergwijn's debut goal following his £26.7 million (S$47.7m) move from PSV Eindhoven last week helped Spurs to a remarkable 2-0 win over 10-man Manchester City yesterday morning (Singapore time) that breathed new life into their top-four tilt.
Spurs are fifth in the English Premier League, four points behind Chelsea in the final Champions League spot.
Mourinho's men had been largely outplayed for the first hour at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, but were kept in the game by City's profligacy and Hugo Lloris' first-half penalty save from Ilkay Guendogan.
However, Oleksandr Zinchenko's 60th-minute sending-off changed the game as Spurs scored with their first two shots on goal through Bergwijn and Son Heung Min.
Former Newcastle United and Brighton & Hove Albion manager Chris Hughton said on Sky Sports: "Spurs rode their luck, and on an average day, they (City) put those chances away. But it's about the result and how you get the result...
"That wasn't a masterclass."
Former Spurs midfielder Jermaine Jenas, agreed, writing in his BBC column: "The statistics behind Tottenham's win on Sunday might suggest it was another Jose Mourinho masterclass. In reality it was more a story of Manchester City's missed chances...
"The reality was they were hugely fortunate not to be at least a couple of goals down before Oleksandr Zinchenko's red card gave them a way back into the game, and even then their first goal came out of absolutely nothing.
"I don't blame Jose for playing the way he did against City, because of the way results went when he first took charge of Spurs."
Following ex-City defender Micah Richards' claim that Guardiola had "overthought" things with his unorthodox 3-2-4-1 formation in the 1-0 League Cup semi-final, second-leg defeat by Manchester United last week, Graeme Souness said the Spaniard was not to blame for City's second consecutive loss.
The former Liverpool manager said on Sky Sports: "They've played well today. There's not a lot wrong with them.
"He'll (Guardiola) be angry at Zinchenko's first booking, (Riyad) Mahrez's poor corner kick that led to the goal and the sending-off.
"(Nicolas) Otamendi for the second goal, just stay where you are."
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