The Lilywhites managed to beat the defending champions even without playing their mainstay striker.
Tottenham Hotspur managed to win 1-0 over tough opponents Manchester City, Sunday (15/8) WIB.
Son Heung-min’s single goal in the 55th minute was enough to make The Citizens go home with your head down.
The match, which was held at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, was again filled with fans after a season of matches having to be held without spectators.
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Tottenham striker Harry Kane was not included in Nuno Espirito Santo’s squad in this match, making Son the spearhead of the home team’s attack.
Meanwhile, the Premier League’s most expensive player Jack Grealish appeared from the early minutes and made his league debut with City.
The course of the match
City started the game with confidence and immediately made a quick attack in the fourth minute through Grealish’s penetration. But the former Aston Villa was violated in front of the penalty box.
Ilkay Gundogan who took a direct free kick directed the ball into the goal, luckily the ball still hit Eric Dier’s body and the Tottenham opponent was still safe.
In the fifth minute Benjamin Mendy sent a cross that could not be reached by Hugo Lloris. The ball was headed straight by Fernandinho, but the ball was still wide.
One minute later, City were able to threaten Lloris’ goal again, after Riyad Mahrez’s cross was blocked by a Tottenham player, a wild ball that was immediately struck by Joao Cancelo was still narrowly wide on the side of the goal.
Not wanting to be constantly attacked, Tottenham immediately took the initiative to attack. Son’s free kick in the 22nd minute failed to be saved well by Ederson Moraes, and the ball went to Lucas Moura, but unfortunately his shot was still able to be blocked by Gundogan in front of goal.
In the first half, Pep Guardiola’s team was able to control the game well, recording 68.2 percent possession of the ball.
However, despite appearing dominant, City were unable to penetrate the Tottenham defense which was escorted by the duo of Davinson Sanchez and Dier. Grealish cs was also unable to release a single shot towards the goal, the same as Nuno’s troops.
The 0-0 score lasted until halftime.
In the second half, the score finally changed when Son completed Tottenham’s quick counter-attack with a left-footed shot from outside the box.
Steven Bergwijn feeds Son on the right. The South Korea international penetrated and tried to get into the middle, he finally fired a low left-footed shot into the left corner of the goal that Ederson couldn’t reach.
The hosts were actually able to add to the advantage, if the final finish from Bergwijn continued the bait from Moura not wide on the left side of the goal.
Because City’s attacks are always blunt, Guardiola introduced Kevin De Bruyne in the 79th minute, replacing Riyad Mahrez who was not too visible in this match.
The entry of De Bruyne did make City’s attack sharper, but they still failed to equalize.
The Belgium international had tried his luck with a shot from outside the box in the 84th minute, but Lloris was still able to secure the net.
Score 1-0 ended until the referee blew the whistle signaling the end of the match.
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