Dan Burn acknowledged that he was impressed by Tottenham’s pressing of Manchester City, saying that the Premier League winners are not used to opponents doing that to them at home.
Prior to the trip to the Etihad Stadium, Ange Postecoglou made it plain that his team would not be altering their strategy despite the fact that they were coming off three straight losses and were without several important players.
The Australian fulfilled his promise, but for the majority of the first half, it appeared as though the Spurs’ strategy was failing because they were consistently giving the ball away in their own end.
But the away team stuck to their plan and played with much more conviction in the second half, which created plenty of opportunities for scoring.
Given the bravery Tottenham displayed in the second half and the occasionally rattled appearances of the City players, it is arguable that Tottenham deserved a point in the end.
The way players like Son Heung-min and Dejan Kulusevski were pressing Pep Guardiola’s team, according to Burn, made them appear uneasy.
The center back for Newcastle said on BBC’s The Monday Night Club: “I think that confidence is also increased for them when they [Man City] are winning against strong teams.”
They frequently pin teams back because they are accustomed to having the largest percentage of the possession. But they are not uncomfortable with you very often. Thus, they occasionally appeared uneasy yesterday against Tottenham.
As Kulusevski pursued individuals, Son was applying triple pressure to them. They are not accustomed to doing it, especially not at home. City is a large field, and it can be challenging to successfully go there and press all out.
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Burn makes an extremely compelling point, since it appears that City has defeated a lot of teams in recent years, even before the game has begun.
Teams play against Pep Guardiola’s team knowing they will have to defend for their lives, so in a sense, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy.
This season, a few teams—Spurs among them—have demonstrated that the Premier League champions are vulnerable if you approach them and attempt to force errors.