Manchester City versus Tottenham Hotspur – Second half review: English Premier League (Part 2)
Manchester City decided to conduct a defensive substitution to stem Tottenham’s attacks in the 67th minute as Patrick Vieira came on for http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Mancini-c23323 changed his formation around with this change as
well as Vieira took Yaya Toure’s place in central midfield and the former http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Patrick-c29254’s experienced approach allowed City
to take control of the ball more often than not.
The Frenchman kept control of http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Luka-Modric-c22857 as well who played a very influential part for the away side throughout the match. With Modric’s creativity stifled, Manchester City found it easier to play through the central midfield
region. As Vieira was sent on with a predominantly defensive agenda, his presence also allowed Yaya Toure to venture forward and to dictate the tempo of the match inside Tottenham’s half of the field.
This was evident in the 68th minute when Yaya Toure outmuscled http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/David-Silva-c10601. The Spanish midfielder somehow mistimed his kick and failed to connect with the ball as Tottenham
were let off the hook for some extremely careless defending. In the 77th minute, Harry Redknapp made a bold change as he brought on Jermain Defoe in place of http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Peter-Crouch-c29741. The aim of this substitution was to use Defoe’s pace to stretch City’s midfield
and defence but such a strategy never materialized on the field as http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Vincent-Kompany-c36184 expertly marked the former West Ham United striker.
In the 80th minute, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Steven-Pienaar-c34208 brought down Edin Dzeko at the edge of the Manchester City penalty
area as the former Wolfsburg striker was about to launch a counter attack for the home side. Pienaar was booked as a result. http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Roberto-c31294 Mancini in the 83rd minute as well as David Silva made way for the Argentinean
striker.
In the 88th minute, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Younes-Kaboul-c37543 after making a goal saving block inside Tottenham’s penalty area following Patrick Vieira’s looped finish. Gallas injured his knee in the process
and thus was taken off the field.
In the 90th minute, Tottenham had their last chance of the match to equalize as http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Jermain-Defoe-c18359 inside the Manchester City penalty area. The Englishman was thwarted by a find tackle from Micah
Richards as City eventually ended the match as final winners thanks to Peter Crouch’s own goal in the first half. In doing so, the Citizens also ensured a place in the 2011-2012 UEFA Champions League following a tough season in the English Premier League.
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