Haaland scores but others shine for City
<div class="sdc-site-video sdc-article-widget callfn" data-account-id="6058004149001" data-amp-iframe-embed="" data-asset-id="b7f38763-53c5-41d6-a5e4-931e3aedae58" data-asset-path="" data-asset-version="" data-autoplay="" data-auth-config=" Spurs do Ventrone proud
Even Haaland’s goal highlighted that this is a team effort. There were 21 passes in the build-up to it – no goal has featured a longer passing sequence in the Premier League this season. The fascination with Haaland remains. But this is a formidable Manchester City team.Adam Bate
Saints on the slide under Hasenhuttl?
Manchester City failed to beat Southampton home and away last season so maybe this should not have been the foregone conclusion. Yet, the gulf between the two teams was apparent from the start. It was as one-sided as Premier League games come.
The question for the under-pressure Saints boss Ralph Hasenhuttl was posed by the man himself when speaking in his post-match press conference. “Are they better than before or were we not on the level? I think we were not at the level on the ball.”
The Austrian did go on to explain why the presence of Erling Haaland creates new problems but Southampton created plenty for themselves, turning over the ball in bad areas. They are still trying to be a pressing team but they look less confident than ever in possession.
That win over Chelsea in which the now injured Romeo Lavia starred feels a long time ago now. Four defeats have followed and though they remain outside of the relegation zone, the trajectory for this young team is worrying. It is West Ham next. It feels huge.Adam Bate
This one was for Ventrone…
It’s hard for onlooker who has no foot in the Tottenham camp to understand truly just how much the staff has been hit by the sudden death of popular fitness coach Gian Piero Ventrone. We can gauge the clear sadness from the tributes posted online by the players and of course the clear holding back of tears by Harry Kane when interviewed after the game. But it’s hard to truly feel it from a personal standpoint.
Yet, a moment did hit me quite hard. It was hard not to get emotional walking down the steps from the press box at the Amex, long after the final whistle had gone and witness the Spurs substitutes doing their warm down. To the backdrop of an empty stadium, the players were undertaking their first post-match fitness duties since the passing of their guru.
A part of the puzzle missing. Gone. There was an eerie silence as the nine substitutes were put through their paces by two members of the coaching staff. Ventrone would have certainly been proud of Tottenham’s performance. It was one where the fitness built up under Ventrone’s watch was used to maximum effect as Spurs battled and ran hard to repel Brighton despite this being their third game in seven days.