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Ange Postecoglou made a baffling decision vs Man City that may have cost Tottenham the game in 1-0 defeat

Srinivas Sadhanand

Thu 27 February 2025 7:55, UK

Ange Postecoglou would have been disappointed for numerous reasons after Tottenham Hotspur lost 1-0 to Manchester City.

Firstly, the loss itself would be hurting Postecoglou as it was one step forward and two steps back for a Tottenham side that came into the game off the back✃ of back-to-back wins aga💫inst Manchester United and Ipswich Town.

Secondly, with how Spurs dominated much of the second half, Ange Postecoglou would have been ᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚgutted not to see the🎀 hosts capitalise on the plethora of chances they created to at least take home a well-earned point.

However, the likes of Heung-min Son, Pape Matar Sarr and Wilson Odobert were profligate in front of goal as Erling Haaland’s goal in the first half won Manchester City the high-octane affair.

Ange Postecoglꦫou will spend the upcoming days breaking down why his Tottenham side could not get the job done against a City side that were there for the taking.

The former Celtic boss would have every reason to be bemused as not only did 🥂the Lilywhites create chances for fun but also dominate the ball for several spells of the game.

Ange Postecoglou starting Pedro Porro for Tottenham vs Man City was a blunder

But Postecoglou will also have no qualms about the fact that Manchester City ran riot against Tottenham in the first half — with Jeremy Doku giving Pedro Porro one of the toughest nights of his career.

On another day, Doku would have departed the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with three assists had Haaland and Savinho taken their gilt-edged chances after the Belgian did his bit and se൲t them up perfectly. But after witnessing the Manchester City winger toy with Trent Alexander-Arnold in his side’s rece𝔍nt 2-0 loss against Liverpool, it was absurd to see Ange Postecoglou hand Porro the tall task of keeping him quiet.

Doku is one of the best dribblers in the world and with that being the case, Djed Spence who is far ♈more solid defensively should have been one of the first names on the team sheet. Spence has an impressive track record against top-class wingers as well, most notably not giving Mohamed Salah any joy in Spurs’ 1-0 win against Liverpool in the first leg of t🌄he Carabao Cup semi-final.

However, Porro, who struggled against Tamworth as well has had a history of having poor games against tricky wingers — stretching back to his debut against Leicester City when Harvey Barnes tore him to shreds. Doku 𒀰did the same, constantly bursting past him with his quick feet and searing pace while being given acres to deliver balls into the box.

The former Rennes wideman did not even need to dart past Porro to be handed all the space and time in the world to set Haaland up for t🎀he one and only goal that decided the contest.

Spence, who could be handed an England call-up is a man in form and furthermore, the way he defends is by jockeying his opponent and being far more measured in his approach than his Tottenham teammate, who rushes to engage and eventually gets beaten. Porro has been 💞slated by T💮ottenham fans this season as he is not hℱaving the best campaign from a defensive standpoint and Spence has now shown Ange Postecoglou enough evidence that he should be his starting right-back.

Djed Spence’s stats for Tottenham vs Man City proved Ange Postecoglou wrong

Eventually, the former Nottingham Forest full-back was brought off the bench as he replac🦋ed Destiny Udogie and operated as a leꦉft-back.

While Udogie also had his struggles against🍌 Savinho, Spence made life difficult for the Brazilian and the statistics prove th𒊎at to be the case.

The Englishman was not drib𒁃bled past even once, made a clearance as welജl as a key pass.

Spence drove forward with the ball well aꦅnd made๊ a number of smart runs down Manchester City’s left-hand side to emerge as an instant threat upon being substituted on to the pitch.

Perhaps if the versatile defender had ෴started over Porro in the first place, the Tottenham dressing ꦏroom and Ange Postecoglou would have been celebrating one or three points.

But ultimately, the blame lies in the ওformer Sporting CP defender’s shoulders for not doing a better job of limiti🥀ng Doku’s influence.