Spurs learn lesson from Celtic to prove City are far from faultless

Who would have thought it would be Brendan Rodgers who showed the way? That Manchester City had struggled to defend this season had seemed a quirk. After all, it hardly mattered that they had kept only one clean sheet in the league all season when they were averaging three goals a game. But what Celtic showed and Tottenham underlined was that those defensive deficiencies could yet be a major problem for City this season.

If you can force this City back, if you can pin them into their own half, as Spurs did in spells, then they are vulnerable because when forced to defend, they are not particularly good at it.

Pep Guardiola had acknowledged in the build-up that Tottenham are further along their road of development. “In two or three years my team will be better,” he said afterwards. “We had problems in finding the guys when we wanted to find them,” he explained. “They were one step in front of us. Every time we got behind their press we created problems but they won the second balls. “It’s not that we didn’t fight or try it’s that we weren’t in the right position.”

That is a matter of mutual understanding, of the patterns Guardiola is seeking to instil. It always seemed surprising that City had apparently adapted so rapidly to his way of doing things; this was evidence that there were perhaps flaws there. That the likes of Sunderland, Stoke and Swansea could not expose them maybe isn’t hugely surprising; that Manchester United couldn’t perhaps should concern their fans – although even they will think of the chances their side created in the second half of the derby.

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But forcing City back is not easy. Tottenham attempted 45 tackles against City, nine more than any other side had against Guardiola's men in the league this season (Celtic racked up 44). As a result they limited City to 484 passes. That’s fewer than against any other side in the league this season. They had previously been restricted to 494 by Stoke, while they had got as high as 681 on the opening day against a supine Sunderland.

“The performance was nearly perfect,” Mauricio Pochettino said. “To play a great team like Manchester City you need to do a fantastic job. Both teams played in an exciting way. We share a similar philosophy. I enjoyed it a lot from the touchline. We want to have control always. It’s true that City wants the same as us. Then it’s a battle on the pitch.”

Yet perhaps the warnings are there. Other opponents of City should draw encouragement form how shaky they appeared defensively – although Guardiola seemed genuinely confused by a question about the performance of his full-backs – but taking them on at their own game may not suit everybody. After all, as well as Tottenham played, City still had 57.7% of the ball. Tottenham still only had 13 shots – although they restricted City to 12. And it may be noted as well that this was a City without Kevin De Bruyne, Vincent Kompany and Nolito.

Guardiola was admirably straightforward afterwards, offering no excuses – and there is clearly a healthy respect between him and Pochettino – but there was a sense that this was as much an off-day from City as Tottenham outplaying them. But at the same time, Tottenham – even without Harry Kane, Mousa Dembele and Eric Dier – looked a bigger, stronger side. There is a muscle about them that City don’t have. Its not a huge factor and certainly was not the decisive factor but it does help when one team is getting on top. Victor Wanyama’s six tackles and five fouls were vital in preventing City from really getting going.

And that too perhaps is a lesson from which others can draw. In the 2009 Champions League final, Alex Ferguson raged at Carlos Tevez and Cristiano Ronaldo for becoming mesmerised by Guardiola’s Barcelona, watching their passing moves without making the runs they were supposed to. Spurs’ victory is a reminder to all sides not to be overawed, to remember that City are human: they can be rattled and their defence is far from impregnable.

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