hello and welcome to the etihad stadium my name is derek ray and with me in the commentary position
is the former arsenal fullback lee dixon i'm looking forward to bringing you action
from the premier league coming right up it is manchester city up against tottenham hotspur
yeah thanks derek great atmosphere here the two sides i'm sure will set a quick tempo in this game
we get to watch for free the players are chomping at the bit i can't wait
kevin de bruyne one of the complete midfield players in the modern game lee what do you expect
we'll see from him in this match he's on the ball all the time and his ability on the ball is
absolutely phenomenal he doesn't pass the ball away he lends it to
his teammates because he wants it back very difficult to get the ball off him
okay
and so they started 11 for manchester city ederson gets the node in goal kevin de bruyne starts with
in central midfield and the centerpiece of the attack today is gabrielle jesus
introducing the spurs starting 11.
and this is the formation most people in the game are very familiar with nowadays yeah most
coaches are adopting this formation what it does give you is two holding players in front of the
back four to protect them but it also gives you three supporting players to that central striker
and they kick off here
zinchenko de bruyne here's mares
a really single-minded piece of defending to make sure nothing untoward happened
smuggled away
can they price them open now gundogan here's de bruyne and back with gunduan the brainerd
now gundaman
and firing it into the area but fists it away by the goalkeeper
gundogan
here's grealish gundogan
here's gabriel jesus tremendous block
alderweireld the ball with martinez
might be able to set up the chance
that's all they can conjure for now well the ref will hear the crowd all right we can
hear him from here he's taking some stick well that's how to break the spirit of the attacker
ruben diaz de bruyne when you sit off like this you invite pressure
and spurs have the ball once more oh nice ball son
and return to son masterful piece of foiling well city control in the lion's share of possession
but really possession doesn't score your goals you need to be a little bit more
forceful in front of goal they need to get the shots away
gundogan still passing it around with authority and it's gabriel jesus and they deal with the
threat this time the teams are locked together will it stay that way following this corner
set pieces they're so important listen to that noise derek listen it's awesome
well that could be his final rebuke i think and the referee's making that absolutely clear i like
that derek good refereeing nice and strong told the player exactly what he was thinking
and the penalty a goal as is and now he can exhale
well here's the replay and it's a bit of a weird one for me
he goes straight the keeper is there and yet it still goes in madness
so the ball is rolling again that should shake up spurs a bit 17 kevin de bruyne
los elso now orien aldo vero aimed towards delhi alley
and using his strength to shield the ball and spurs moving the ball with purpose
firing it in and a goal here for tottenham who have even things up
well here it is again he does so well to slip past his man left him stranded
and the thunderous strike to beat the keeper hands down is absolutely brilliant
and there it is the halftime whistle
and so much to like about the first half performance put in by kevin de bruyne
as anticipated plenty of talking points so far and now the second half is underway
a terrific defending to stop them progressing
joao cancello
intercepting it intelligently
son
the ball with martinez he's protecting it effectively he made it look simple really
grealish gundogan
and now kevin de bruyne was certainly allowing their opponents to come on to them
and a pretty straightforward stop for the goalkeeper there yeah weak
shot straight at him no problem for the goalie
credit to them for winning back possession
de bruyne joao cancello
and teammates to play it too thump's clear
good tackle it'll be a
first throw make a personnel switch now gareth bale coming on to the pitch number 11 eric gunduan
lo celso eric dyer the ball with martinez dele alley here's los also
it could be up for grabs
gundam
magnificent goal
well here's the replay it's a great ball into the danger area and from there the
soft cushion bolly's an absolute dream i love this goal a chance to revisit the goal
well he's got to be delighted with his players a big smile on his face
they've got the noses in front they're in the lead well done
well a dramatic moment near the end and that might well be the decider
inside the last quarter of an hour it has gone over the touchline for what will be a throw-in
rodri attempting to play catch up in this second half
lee what are the priorities to beat well tottenham haven't been at their best have they
a little off color for me in all departments but they're still in this game we always used to say
on the pitch when we were losing we're bound to get one more chance let's see if they do
now a potentially dangerous position for
joel cancello punched away
and it's a case of just five minutes left disappointing pass
fernando silva
the ball with rodri
joan casello retired so well to intercept can they do something positive on the counter attack
fabian
now dire and there's the final whistle it goes into the books as a city victory
lee your assessment well wins like that when there's nothing between the sides
seem more valuable somehow really tight game that was
very much the organizer in chief kevin de bruyne lee what in particular did you see
in this match from the talented belgian well a really good performance from the lad today he was
pretty much involved in everything and he never really looked like missing his penalty did he