CAN POCH LAND A PUNCH?

Unless Spurs deal a KO blow today, the champs can streak ahead on points

IT is mildly amusing to note that when Pep Guardiola was starting out on an ode to Mauricio Pochettino yesterday, the other guy had just finished floating the idea of them having a punch-up.

As is occasionally the way with Pochettino and his marvellous tangents, he had actually set off in the opposite direction.

The point he had wanted to make was his irritation at the cult of the boss and the traditional shrinking of two vast, brilliant operations in Tottenham and Manchester City into a clash of just two men.

‘I hate it,’ he said. ‘When you play another team and it becomes a fight between one and another person, when in the competition it is the whole team.’

That evolved to the joke that Premier League managers should play football one-on-one ahead of their fixtures — and in time that became a proposal for a ruck. ‘Like Anthony Joshua,’ said Pochettino. ‘Let’s create a ring and fight.’

There was a sensible point before the left turn. Yet, as a sub-plot to the main event, this tangle of Pochettino and Guardiola is as fascinating as anything else. The way they have reshaped their clubs has made today’s engagement one of the most enjoyable fixtures on the calendar and, equally, given an absurd level of importance to an August weekend.

That is not to buy into the idea that the title could ever be decided so soon, but it is a reasonable reflection of the make-up of City’s fixtures and how far ahead they might get before they meet another big dog.

They follow Tottenham with Premier League fixtures against Bournemouth, Brighton, Norwich, Watford, Everton, Wolves, Crystal Palace, Aston Villa and Southampton. By the time they go to Liverpool on November 9, one might expect them to be arriving at Anfield at speed.

Considering they have won each of their past 15 top-flight games — their own record is set at 18, from 2017 — there is an element of foreboding about how good Guardiola’s side have become relative to the league beyond Liverpool and Tottenham.

Jose Mourinho last week aired that observation, along with the quip that only Manchester City’s reserves could be rated as a fourth title challenger. ‘I love Mou,’ Pochettino said in response, but it is no secret that Tottenham under him are one of the few sides capable of landing a glove on City.

He doesn’t have the same read on the City manager as Jurgen Klopp — Liverpool’s boss is the only regular opponent to have a winning record over Guardiola — but Pochettino does know how to cause him damage.

There is no obvious conclusion to be drawn from the symmetry of Pochettino having inflicted both Guardiola’s first Premier League defeat, in October 2016, and his last in any competition, in the Champions League in April.

However, where Spurs differ to most, other than Liverpool, is that there is zero fear or reverence when they face City — and Pochettino hinted at another front-foot assault at the Etihad Stadium today.

‘We have full respect for all of the teams, from Manchester City to the other 18 opponents,’ he said. ‘But we have a way that we love to play, sometimes you can lose, sometimes you can win. We are brave, we try to go forward, we always try to think about ourselves before the opponent. Maybe that is the key to beating a team like Manchester City.’

Of some concern to Tottenham is that their performance in the 3-1 opening-day win over Aston Villa was reminiscent of some sketchy displays at the end of the 2018-19 campaign. Doubtless they cannot afford another slow start today, which would suggest a recall for Christian Eriksen, who turned the game from the bench against Villa.

The uncertainty over the Dane’s future remains the biggest thorn in Pochettino’s side and the Argentine was more frank than ever in explaining yesterday how that unresolved issue, not to mention doubts over the futures of Toby Alderweireld, Jan Vertonghen and Danny Rose, is affecting his work.

‘We’ll see what happens between now and September 2,’ he said. ‘Like we can change our minds, a player can change his. The team is not settled how I expected it to be.’

However big those problems may be for Spurs, Guardiola was effusive in his praise of Pochettino, saying: ‘Overwhelming, extraordinary. Even if he doesn’t believe me, so he’s a top, top, top, top manager.’

He rates Tottenham as the ‘second best in Europe’ after their run to the Champions League final.

That would put Spurs ahead of City. This next meeting ought to show how the true order stands without the need of a ring.