Bergwijn sparks Spurs victory with debut goal
Tottenham Hotspur 2 Bergwijn 63, Son 71 0 Manchester City Att: 61,022
Steven Bergwijn spoke of the childlike joy he felt after announcing himself in the Premier League with a stunning debut goal to help defeat Manchester City. The unbridled happiness with which he celebrated his strike said it all.
Just as Tottenham Hotspur were calling out for something, just as Jose Mourinho needed something, after puzzlingly not getting the striker he desperately wanted in the January transfer window, Bergwijn made his mark.
Such was Tottenham’s plight that Mourinho threw the 22-year-old Holland international winger straight in following his £27million move from PSV Eindhoven last Tuesday. He departed 70 minutes later, with even debilitating cramp failing to wipe the smile from his face, to a standing ovation.
His strike was superb – a crisp low volley into the bottom corner from just inside the City penalty area having chested down Lucas Moura’s chip in to him.
It was also Spurs’ first attempt at goal. That they scored with their second, from Son Heung-min, was even more remarkable given how breathtakingly wasteful but dominant City had been as they spurned chance after glorious chance, including a first-half penalty.
In the end this became Mourinho’s biggest win, in his 18th fixture, since he took over as Spurs head coach and he had the delight of not just moving up to fifth place and cutting Chelsea’s advantage, in fourth, to just four points but in getting one over on Pep Guardiola. Mourinho revels in making history, so he became the first coach to beat Guardiola with four different teams: Inter Milan, Real Madrid, Manchester United and now Spurs.
His eyes will be on a return to Stamford Bridge on Feb 22 to take on Chelsea while another date looms: this defeat for
City means that Liverpool need just six more wins to guarantee their first league title since 1990.
That would earmark a home game against Crystal Palace on March 21, although fate might conspire, should City drop further points before then, that they could win it the game before: away to their arch city rivals Everton.
City remain 22 points behind Liverpool, which is astonishing given the two were neck-and-neck last season. They have lost six league games – as many as they did in the whole of Guardiola’s first season in charge, which was his worst total.
The problem is not just the profligacy in front of goal but also their continuing defensive weakness. Aymeric Laporte was absent, John Stones did not even make the squad, Nicolas Otamendi struggled and City have conceded 29 goals in 25 games – six more than they did in the whole of the last campaign.
Not that this was a Mourinho masterclass although he will smile at winning 2-0 with just 33 per cent possession, at home, and with only three attempts at goal – all when City were down to 10 men – against 18 attempts from the visitors.
It was Oleksandr Zinchenko who was dismissed after collecting a second yellow card for a needless body-check on the impressive Harry Winks. Up until then, and after the goals, City dominated with Spurs indebted to goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, who was simply outstanding.
Mourinho argued, with some justification, that City should have been a man down long before that after Raheem Sterling was only cautioned early in the first half by referee Mike Dean, even after a video assistant referee check, despite catching Dele Alli high on his ankle with a late challenge.
Mourinho was furious at that and there were more theatrics from him after an incredible passage of play later in the half that ended with a penalty, a melee and more cards. In fact the spot-kick was given a full three minutes after Serge Aurier rashly lunged in on Sergio Aguero.
Play continued but when the ball finally went out of play Dean signalled the VAR check had resulted in a penalty. Ilkay Gundogan’s weak effort was saved by Lloris. Sterling chased down the rebound and appeared to be caught by the Spurs goalkeeper, who reacted furiously, accusing the City winger of diving as did Giovani Lo Celso with Toby Alderweireld and Zinchenko booked as the players angrily crowded around.
On the touchline Mourinho waved an imaginary card having slumped into his chair, smirking, as the penalty was given.
City had other chances: Lloris saved brilliantly from Aguero, turning his low shot on to a post with an outstretched left leg; the striker also drove the ball into the side-netting from close range and Sterling miscued from six yards out.
Those misses were as nothing, though, compared to early in the second half when Sterling was released with Lloris and Japhet Tanganga colliding and the ball breaking to Aguero, whose goalbound shot was blocked by Alderweireld. Still the ball fell to Sterling, who only had to square to Gundogan but overhit his pass with the midfielder, at full stretch, ballooning a shot over the unguarded goal.
“Park the bus, park the bus Tottenham. Playing football the Mourinho way,” sang the City fans but, while Spurs certainly defended deep, it was the profligacy of their team that was the problem. City brought about their downfall with a woeful Gundogan corner intercepted and Winks fouled by Zinchenko, who saw red. After Bergwijn’s goal, Mourinho took off Moura and Alli – there is concern his ankle is damaged. Alli’s replacement, Tanguy Ndombele, threaded a clever pass through to Son, who took advantage of Otamendi needlessly rushing out to shoot low, the ball deflecting off Fernandinho’s boot to beat Ederson’s dive.
There must have been a point between the penalty miss and Zinchenko’s dismissal when City knew it was not their day. So it continued with Lloris saving from Kevin De Bruyne and Davinson Sanchez diverting the ball against his own crossbar. It was Guardiola’s turn to slump in his seat.