Much of the aftermath has focused on what Tottenham’s stunning 4-0 defeat of Manchester City at the Etihad means for Pep Guardiola, but Ange Postecoglou’s masterclass has not gone unnoticed.
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City are in crisis having lost their last five matches across all competitions but this was the first time they have been beaten at home since Brentford defeated them 2-1 in 2022.
Not only were City beaten, they were annihilated.
It was the equal worst loss of Guardiola’s managerial career, and for City fans, it was like a throwback to the old days at Maine Road before Abu Dhabi oil money turned them into a powerhouse.
And it was orchestrated by an Australian who was under their noses for many years.
Postecoglou has taken a liking to Manchester.
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His Spurs routed United 3-0 at Old Trafford earlier this season.
The similarities to his home city of Melbourne with the Northern Quarter’s laneways filled with coffee shops, bars and graffiti art might bring out the best in Postecoglou when he takes his team north, but his time with Yokohama F. Marinos in Japan is the key behind his success in the iconic football city.
The club he guided to the J League title in 2019 are part of the City Football Group and as a result he had access to a treasure trove of tactical information from Manchester City.
Therefore, there are few Premier League managers who know City as well as Postecoglou, and that was reflected in a series of master strokes to set up arguably the best win of his career.
Before the international break, Tottenham suffered their worst loss of the Australian’s 50 Premier League games in charge with a 2-1 home loss to relegation-threatened Ipswich Town.
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The fans started to turn with a chorus of boos and the pressure began to mount on Postecoglou in the English media, but Saturday’s performance quickly put that talk to bed.
Posteocglou has experienced a rollercoaster relationship with Spurs fans so far, and the victory must have been all the more sweeter given some Tottenham fans hoped their team lost in their previous Premier League meeting with City – which they did 2-0 – to end rivals Arsenal’s hopes of winning the title in the penultimate matchday of last season.
The tale could not have been more different this time around with Postecoglou’s call to return midfielder James Maddison to the starting line-up – in place of the suspended Rodrigo Bentancur – proving pivotal.
“Nobody exemplified the difference between the two sides more than Maddison, who was magnificent on his return to first-team action – in two different phases of play,” PremierLeague.com’s Alex Keble wrote.
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“First, his runs from deep challenged the City defence and led to the opening goal, a superb cross from Dejan Kulusevski that rewarded Ange Postecoglou’s decision to move the Swede back out to the right and accommodate Maddison centrally.”
Tottenham were typically daring as they worked their way through midfield with Maddison’s “left half-space” runs causing havoc.
“Picking Maddison, a player always likely to make those runs, was an attacking risk from Postecoglou that quickly – and persistently – paid off,” Keble wrote.
“After the opener, before which City had raced out of the blocks and put Spurs under pressure, City began to wane in energy and dropped a little deeper.
“This is when Maddison took charge in a second way, coming short to dictate the tempo brilliantly.
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“It was his crisp passing through the lines that pinned Man City; that caused the hesitation that led to City giving the ball away in their own third and Maddison – again running from deep – scoring the second.
“Maddison had 64 touches of the ball and made 45 passes, dictating the tempo centrally and in the final third until City were chasing shadows.”
Maddison’s link up play with Yves Bissouma and Pape Sarr as well as striker Dominic Solanke – who regularly dropped back into midfield – overwhelmed the City midfield duo of Gundogan and Bernardo Silva.
Writing for The Times, Martin Samuel said that Postecoglou’s Spurs had dealt with the loss of Harry Kane far better than City were handling the absence of injured Ballon d’Or winner Rodri in defensive midfield.
“For Tottenham fans still smarting at once being described as the Harry Kane team by a certain coach, this win must have felt particularly delicious. At least Kane was among the greatest goalscorers in the modern game. Who wouldn’t miss Kane? City have collapsed deprived of one defensive midfielder. They’ve made Rodri look like Diego Maradona. Who didn’t think they were better than that?” Samuel wrote.
Meanwhile, Kulusevki and Son Heung-min were instrumental out wide.
Writing in the Telegraph, Sam Wallace said that Postecoglou had unlocked City with one particular tactic by his attacking weapons.
“It was a great evening for Ange Postecoglou, under no little pressure himself, who spoke afterwards about ‘doubling down on football principles’ in the face of the many challenges of playing City away. But he did let slip that it had been taking on City down the wings one-on-one where they hoped to profit and so it proved with Kulusevski and Son Heung-min,” Wallace wrote.
Writing in the Guardian, Jamie Jackson said another wide man was used smartly by Postecoglou: goalscorer Pedro Porro.
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“The right-back prospered as Ange Postecoglou’s men did all evening: by ransacking the champions who, despite Guardiola’s defiance that he is up for arresting the slide, were clueless, as illustrated by Brennan Johnson’s added-time fourth, when, for a countless time, City fell to the quick break,” Jackson wrote.
“You have to go back to 2006 for the last time City suffered five reverses in a row. That dire run ended after six defeats and do not bet against Guardiola’s iteration matching this – Feyenoord are here on Tuesday – as his famed tactical brain is drawing a blank and he admits to a ‘fragility’.”
While the moves all worked effectively, that style has been commonplace of any Postecoglou side.
What came as a significant sign of growth was Spurs’ ability to sit back and hold firm once they held a sizeable lead despite first choice centre backs Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero being sidelined with injury.
“Following the third goal Spurs held 30 per cent possession and had four shots to Man City’s 13: they sat deep, blocked the middle, dug in brilliantly in a compressed 4-5-1 formation, and even countered to add a fourth,” Keble wrote.
“For that, Postecoglou deserves huge credit. His team have been criticised in the past for failing to shut games down and for playing emotionally when calm heads are needed.
“That is not what happened here.”
Many Tottenham people were over the moon with what they witnessed.
Former Spurs midfielder and manager Tim Sherwood took the opportunity to shame any Tottenham fans that called for Postecoglou’s sacking during the international break, while two-time FA Cup winner with Spurs Graham Roberts posted on X his immense pleasure with what the Australian is bringing to the table.
“I stopped myself from posting last week after the loss to Ipswich but as I keep saying we all need to keep with this manager, he is simply wonderful!” Roberts wrote.
“You can see more than any manager what he is trying to do at this club. A top top manager.”
Tottenham sit sixth on the Premier League table after 12 games, only three points behind third place Chelsea.
Postecoglou’s side have scored more goals than anyone else, have the second best goal difference (14) and only league leaders Liverpool along with Newcastle have conceded on fewer occasions.
They are numbers that show they are on the right track, but a massive run of games leading into Christmas will be a brilliant test across all competitions.
In the league, they face Chelsea and Liverpool in the coming month as well as a quarter final of the Carabao Cup against Manchester United, and Europa League contests against Roma and Rangers.
Postecoglou always wins a trophy in his second year in charge, and those matches will have a big say on whether that trend will continue.
If he can keep pulling the strings like he did against City, breaking Tottenham’s much-discussed trophy drought will surely be on the cards.
