AKE: SPURS HAVE SERIOUS QUALITY AND THEY’RE NOT ALL ABOUT HARRY
NATHAN AKE reckons Tottenham are proving that they were never just Harry Kane’s team. Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola sparked fury a few years ago saying Spurs were a side that belonged to the England captain. But Kane’s departure to Bayern Munich has not prevented Ange Postecoglou’s reign as boss from sparking an air of excitement – and City defender Ake warns that the champions face a stiff test today. Ake said: “Clearly, Harry Kane was scoring a lot of goals for Spurs and if you take that away from any side, it will be felt. “But, although Kane has gone, they have bought some new players like James Maddison, who are really good. Maddison was playing really well before he was injured – but there are other players who have stepped up and are scoring goals. “Son Heung-min has stepped up, there is also Dejan Kulusevski who has done really well, and Brennan Johnson has come in and done well. “They have a lot of people who are top players. It was never just about Kane. “They are playing some really good football this season. “We know they have had a few injuries, which has made it difficult, but even then they are playing great stuff, so it will be a tough game. We have to make sure we are ready and fresh.”
City’s bid to become the first club to win four successive Premier League titles has been slowed by successive draws against Chelsea and Liverpool.
But Guardiola’s side hit back from 2-0 down to beat RB Leipzig on Tuesday to maintain their 100 per cent record in the Champions League.
That stretched City’s unbeaten record to 18 matches.
And Ake reckons the comeback illustrated the hunger of Guardiola’s squad was not satisfied by last season’s historic Treble.
“We know we will never give up,” he said. “Even in the first half, when we know we didn’t play our best game, we still had a lot of chances and things could have been different. We can always create opportunities and score. “I don’t think anyone is looking back to what we did last season. Last year is last year. No one has that on their mind.” The Dutchman (left) also has another box to tick. City head to the Club World Cup in Saudi Arabia later this month and Ake said: “We are going to fight so hard for that because the club have never won it. “I know how the tournament might be viewed by a lot of people from the outside, but we want to win it. “You only get the chance to go for that trophy if you have won the Champions League. Well, we all want to take it. “It would be nice to be able to call ourselves world champions.”