The story of how Man City completely destroyed Tottenham

You may play the best possession football with intricate passing — but that doesn’t mean you’ll win. In fact, if you come up against Manchester City in scintillating form at The Etihad, you may lose 0-6. Ask Tottenham Hotspur. In the Premier League, where teams won’t care whether you keep the ball for long spells, even making a dozen more passes than your opponent could mean a lot more than spraying 100 extra passes in the La Liga or the Serie A. Manchester City, despite playing at home, managed to see just 42 percent of the ball before half-time — but they were still 3-0 up. They had played just 166 passes compared to the 236 that Tottenham had attempted but had eight goal attempts compared to Spurs’ six. The best player on the pitch, Sergio Aguero, also made just 18 passes, completing 12 of them (in 90 minutes). [caption id=“attachment_1248747” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File photo of Sergio Aguero celebrating. Reuters[/caption] Spurs also tried nine crosses to City’s four — in fact, take any number and Spurs were ahead in the battle, but for the scoreline. It was, in the simplest terms, a ruthless lesson for the London outfit and a timely reminder to Andre Villas-Boas that his tactics need a tweak. Spurs’ teamsheet has a lot of fine names but not for the type of football the Portuguese wants them to play. Here’s breaking down the 6-0 thumping The striker: Sergio Aguero and Alvaro Negredo complement each other so well it’s scary to see them run at you together. On the other side, you had the starved-for-service-and-slightly-lethargic Roberto Soldado. The above graphic shows you the shots taken by the two Spanish strikers on the pitch, and from the overall numbers this season it looks like City got the better guy. Soldado is more of a predator who cannot run at defences on his own. AVB should have played Jermaine Defoe (nine goals/two assists in 15 appearances), who mysteriously gets left out by every manager who takes over at White Hart Lane. The Gamebreaker: Both Sandro and Fernandinho provided an insight into how Brazil is now producing old-fashioned anchormen who sit and destroy attacks. However, it’s the latter who came out victorious. Fernandinho and Sandro may have made the same number of tackles but it is the take-ons and the interceptions which matter a lot. Sandro didn’t take on a single City player while Fernandinho went past five white shirts in vital positions. He also made three vital interceptions. Above: Image of tackles made by Fernandinho/Sandro But again, here’s where the real deal lies — in counter-attacking football the anchorman should do just that — hold the ship. Fernandinho concentrated on defence and completed just 45 passes — most of them direct defence-to-attack passes from his own half. Sandro was scattered all over the pitch, leaving gaps for fast breaks in his own half. Run-cross-shoot: City may have fewer passes, but they were arrowed into their strikers’ feet, who held up the ball and allowed the wingers to stretch Spurs. In the case of Aguero, he would sometimes just bulldoze ahead — just like Jesus Navas and Samir Nasri. Three speedsters and one beast of a striker and you have the perfect blend. Their crosses were put in early, leaving Hugo Lloris no chance if a striker lurked. Aaron Lennon and Jesus Navas’ action area chart is a perfect example of how City isolated the Spurs winger while allowing Nasri to bomb forward on every occasion. It was worse on the other side with Erik Lamela failing to make any impression as an inside forward. Spurs’ wings were weak, while City played through the wide areas. And finally, it’s not about how much you shoot, it’s about where you shoot from. Spurs were beleaguered by the time the second half started and their shots were tired pathetic attempts at goal. City’s were from closer, adding constant pressure on the rebound. Verdict: It’s not about how much you pass, it’s what you make of it — not about how much you keep the ball and press, it’s about breaking forward with one aim — work the ball into the box and beat the keeper. All data and graphics from Squawka.com