Barclays Premier League: Five Things We Learned From Manchester City's Victory Over Tottenham Hotspur

Sergio Aguero delivered the killer punch against Spurs once again

Manchester City came out 1-0 winners over Tottenham Hotspur after a frenetic game at White Hart Lane yesterday, in a match that surely must have had every one of the viewers on the edge of their seat.

Manuel Pellegrini's men also broke the 'London curse' by way of yesterday's victory, which is their first in the capital this season, after failing to win at the home of any of the London clubs - Arsenal, West Ham United, Queens Park Rangers (QPR), Chelsea and Crystal Palace - in the Barclays Premier League earlier in the campaign.

Mauricio Pochettino's side played a very good game and probably deserved better, but City were a bit more clinical in their performance that saw them complete a league double over Spurs for the second consecutive season.

Sergio Aguero scored the game's only goal, for which David Silva provided the assist, and the visitors hung on to their advantage thereafter, despite having to make last-ditch tackles and blocks to stop the hosts from leveling the score.

Pellegrini, in his post-match interview, expressed satisfaction over the result, as well as his side's performance.

In hindsight, what did we learn from City's third consecutive league victory after the losses to Palace and Manchester United in April? Read on...

A number of City players impressed in a not-so-convincing performance

Pellegrini's side is definitely capable of producing better performances than they did yesterday.

However, having said that, it was not easy to get a stranglehold of the game at any stage during the course of 95 minutes because of the energy and drive shown by the home side that tried everything it possibly could have, to win the game.

All the City players had to work hard, and they did just that

But City were willing to fight hard and neutralize Spurs' threat by way of defensive discipline, on a day when they couldn't get their attacking game going.

And, from City's point-of-view, it was important that many of their players stood up to the task and produced the kind of performances they did: Fernandinho, Silva, Pablo Zabaleta, Joe Hart and Martin Demichelis impressed during the whole of the game, and played significant roles in their side's victory.

Silva, for instance, showed the hunger and desire to track back - something which he is not used to even when playing as the left-winger - making 10 tackles and winning 4 of them. There were occasions during the game when Silva's inch-perfect intervention stopped Spurs from posing a genuine threat to Hart's goal.

In an attacking sense, Silva played to profile: the Spaniard completed 94% of his passes, created 4 goal scoring chances, 1 of which resulted in an assist for Aguero's goal, and completed his solitary attempted take-on.

Likewise, Fernandinho impressed in a defensive, as well as an offensive, sense, making 4 interceptions, 2 clearances and 3 blocks, in addition to completing 80% of his passes, creating one chance and taking two decent attempts on goal.

Demichelis, you could say, had a mixed game, but there were moments when he was simply impressive and impenetrable: the Argentine made 6 interceptions and 6 clearances, most of which were in and around the City penalty area, and his solitary successful tackle on the day stopped Kane from having a terrific chance to score the equalizer in the 30th minute.

Hart, needless to say, was brilliant on the day, making five magnificent saves and stopping the likes of Paulinho, Lamela and Ryan Mason from scoring a goal past him.

Having been made the captain, Hart probably played the biggest role in his side's victory yesterday, just as he did against AS Roma in the UEFA Champions League group game that City went onto win at the Stadio Olimpico back in December.

It was an eccentric game from City's point-of-view, but if not for the contributions, either in a defensive or offensive sense, of the aforementioned personnel, the tale of the game might well have been different.

Aleksandar Kolarov had one of his best games in a City shirt

Kolarov was by far the best outfield player for City in their 1-0 victory over the North Londoners yesterday.

From the first minute to the last, the Serbian didn't put a foot wrong and was full of hunger and desire, as he impressed in a defensive sense and was lethal going forward, as well.

His very first contribution of the game bailed City out of trouble, as he was the one who tracked Nacer Chadli's run down Spurs' left-hand-side and blocked the Belgian's attempted cross that could well have seen the hosts take the lead in as early as the 2nd minute of the game.

City left-back's defensive contributions didn't end there, as he made 5 other interceptions, 2 clearances, won 1 of his 2 attempted tackles and 3 crucial blocks inside his side's box. 

We cannot reminisce the last time Kolarov produced a defensive display of that sort but, simply put, he was outstanding yesterday.

Going forward, the 29-year old, it has to be said, played to his reputation. 

His delivery from corner-kicks and open play were incisive, completing 4 of his 9 overall crosses, 2 of them resulting in goal scoring chances for his teammates. He also kept his two goal attempts on target, one of which was a 40-yard strike that bamboozled Hugo Lloris, purely because of the power and swerve Kolarov imparted on the ball. 

Therefore, it is safe to say that Kolarov had one of his best games in a City shirt. 

Yesterday's visitors had an attitude check

City have had their mentality and personality questioned during the last few seasons, and that observation on the Citizens was vindicated at White Hart Lane yesterday.

City's rearguard was very slow to get going on the evening, giving the ball away cheaply during the initial stages of the game and failing to get into a good defensive shape.

Eliaquim Mangala, in particular, was caught out of position on a couple of occasions and also failed to control a couple of perilous balls that were played into his feet; on another day, Kane would have punished City and the Frenchman for their lackluster start to the game.

The visitors also failed to deal with a couple of corners in the first few minutes of the game, and the likes of Dier had clear chances to find the back of Hart's net. 

The counterattacking maneuver that resulted in City taking the lead also came after they had failed to deal with a corner properly and were rather fortuitous to have Hart get hold of the bobbling ball.

City's problems in defending corners yesterday were not because of their smaller statures, but due to the lack of proper marking and concentration.

If there is one area, above everything else, City need to tighten up on, it has got to be with their mentality and the way they start marquee fixtures such as yesterday's. 

Tottenham's pace posed plenty of problems for City

The tactical setup of both sides was such that they found it difficult to play through the middle. Both teams lined up in the 4-2-3-1 system and sought to remain narrow in a bid to deny each other the space in the middle of the park. 

During the initial stages, with Tottenham, with all their energy, harrying and harassing City, the visitors were forced into playing long balls just to relieve the massive pressure they were under from the Spurs' frontline. 

City's rearguard had problems dealing with over-the-top balls the hosts played yesterday

The hosts too, with City's rearguard holding a very high line, were keen on playing long balls over the opponents' midfield and defense, and having the likes of Kane, Chadli and Lamela run in behind the City backline. 

That tactic worked very well for a major part of the first half and it was worrying signs for City who, with relatively slow movers in the likes of Zabaleta, Demichelis and Kolarov, just couldn't smother this aspect of the hosts' game plan. 

This has also been a conspicuous aspect of City's struggles in the Champions League, as they always have found it hard to cope with teams loaded with pacey personnel, who have the endeavor to make those runs into the channels. 

City, however, recovered from the mistakes they made in the earlier phases of yesterday's game, but they had to be a lot conservative in their approach and give every ounce of their energy to come away with all three points. 

City showed they can win without dominating possession 

This was a marquee feature of City's game last night and Hart, very rightly, in his post-match interview noted that most of City's opponents this season have played such a style of football and been successful more often than not. 

Over the course of 90 minutes, City had only 46% possession, which is miles off their standards, made fewer passes than the hosts and had fewer attempts on goal than Spurs. But when Andre Marriner blew the final whistle, City were a goal up and had three points in the bag. 

That is why there was satisfaction midst everyone concerned with the Citizens, who have simply been clueless at how City's opponents have managed to win games this season without seeing much of the ball. 

Pellegrini's side, though, probably need to add such a style to their repertoire more often next season and especially in Europe, where you are having to curb your natural style and deal with your opponents' threat from time to time during a fixture.

Final Thought

I have not given any particular recognition to City's Argentine ace, who scored the decisive goal in yesterday's game, but I felt that the contributions made by other players in the side were more significant than Aguero's. 

Yesterday's victory got City to 70 points from 35 games, and has taken them close to attaining direct qualification into next season's Champions League group stages. 

Pellegrini was willing to be a little defensive-minded yesterday

There is still plenty of work to be done by the 2013/14 English champions, who face Swansea City (away) and Southampton (home) to pull the curtains on this campaign that has not gone to plan for Pellegrini's side. 

As far as yesterday's game is concerned, though, it was a huge relief to see City win away from home after consecutively losing their last 5 games across all competitions. 

Manchester City: Five Talking Points From Saturday's Victory Over Aston Villa

Sergio Aguero bagged his 21st league goal of the season

Manchester City got out of jail against Aston Villa, who very nearly pulled off a well deserved draw for themselves, clawing their way back into the game after being 0-2 down and examining the outgoing Barclays Premier League champions' fortitude.

For the Citizens, Sergio Aguero, Aleksandar Kolarov and Fernandinho scored the three goals to ensure their side of the victory that helped them overtake both Arsenal and Manchester United into second-place on the league table.

Tom Cleverley and Carlos Sanchez scored the goals for the visitors, who found plenty of joy from set-pieces throughout the course of 90 minutes.

Manuel Pellegrini, in his post-match press conference, claimed it was his side's fighting spirit that saw them score the decisive third goal, four minutes after Sanchez had equalized for the visitors.

In retrospect: what did we learn from City's performance that, you could say, was not up to the standard of the champions?

City lacked energy and intensity

Aguero made the most of Brad Guzan's howler to put his side into the lead after just 3 minutes on the clock.

Villa failed to learn from Guzan's mistake and kept making unforced errors in possession that led to a couple of more chances for City, but there was a shift in momentum soon after.

The likes of Jack Grealish, Fabian Delph and Leandro Bacuna started seeing more of the ball, and City, with the likes of Yaya Toure, Fernando Reges, Frank Lampard and David Silva in their ranks, failed to cope with the pace at which their opponents played.

There was very little pressing from the home side after the early exchanges, and Villa were allowed time on the ball and oceans of space to maneuver into, which were largely down to the lack of energy from the City side loaded with veterans.

You could also say that Pellegrini's side deliberately sat deeper and probably sought to pick Villa off on the counterattack, but there was very little pressure on the ball when Tim Sherwood's side was in possession.

Jesus Navas and Pablo Zabaleta were the shining lights for City

The Spanish winger continued from where he left off against West Ham United, putting in another good performance that probably didn't get him the deserved praise.

Kieran Richardson, Aston Villa's left fullback, actually handled Navas pretty well, matching the 29-year old winger for speed and roughening him up with three tackles, though he was successful only on one occasion.

Navas, with his pace, gave City a long ball option, which Martin Demichelis and Toure made use of during the first half, especially.

But he also showed how good a ball carrier he can be - cutting inside from his right flank and carrying the ball to the opposite flank with minimum fuss.

Navas completed all four of his attempted take-ons, though he managed to complete only 2 of his 7 attempted crosses on the day.

Zabaleta was another City player who had a very good outing against Villa. The Argentine fullback was full of energy and tenacity, winning one of his three attempted tackles and all of his aerial duels (2) on the day.

Zabaleta also made 5 blocks near City's 18-yard box, as he was alert to every possible danger caused by Villa.

Fernando was one of the many weak-links in City's starting lineup on Saturday

With Khaldoon Al Mubarak, the City chairman, watching on from the stands, a handful of City players knew they were going to be judged and had to put a real shift in.

Fernando, having not made an enviable start to his City career, had another one of his poor games in his first season at the Etihad Stadium.

He slipped often, as did many of his teammates, and failed to take up good positions ahead of the backline. His lack of pace also meant that he was chasing shadows when the likes of Grealish, who completed 7 of his 8 attempted take-ons, deceived him with their movement and speed across the turf.

Kolarov had a mixed performance on his second consecutive start for the reigning English champions. He failed to play with an understanding with his teammates when City had the ball, and he was not very good in a defensive sense either.

The Serbian committed a couple of fouls and failed to win any of his 4 attempted tackles. He, however, was involved in 2 of City's 3 goals, scoring a brilliant free-kick to double his side's advantage and then following it up with a very good assist for Fernandinho's goal that made sure of the victory.

Toure was another one of those players who failed to impress in the presence of the club chairman, even though he was on the pitch only for 45 minutes.

The imperious Ivorian attempted only 17 passes during his vigil, but failed to make any meaningful contribution to City's attacks.

Collectively, Saturday's performance summed up City's season so far, but it also brought to light the massive changes needed to the squad, if Pellegrini's side is to get back in the title hunt next season.

Fernandinho - first, the game changer and then the savior 

The Brazilian's introduction in the second half saw City play with a lot more vitality and incision, as the midfielder played some delightful passes when in possession and worked hard for the welfare of his side, as well.

Fernandinho's eye for a pass is often underestimated, as he usually does the donkey work and always plays in the shadows of the likes of Toure, Silva and Samir Nasri, to name a few.

However, on Saturday, it was the 29-year old midfielder who stood out amongst all other midfielders for City on the day.

Fernandinho's 89th minute winner gave City all three points against Villa

He completed 90% of his attempted passes, created one goal scoring chance, scored a gem of a goal under pressure and was by no means bad defensively (winning 50% tackles and aerial duels).

Hopefully, with that performance, he has sealed his place in City's starting XI for the remaining games of the season.

Defensively, City were not good enough

Not only did Aston Villa enjoy as much as 55% ball possession, but also created an impressive 10 chances during their narrow 2-3 defeat to City on Saturday.

Joe Hart had to make 4 saves during the 90 minutes, and the England No.1 nearly cost City two points by failing to punch the ball away from the danger area while coming from his line to deal with the crosses.

I felt that City dealt with Christian Benteke pretty well, winning a good portion of their aerial duels against the buccaneering Belgian, who, however, created his side's first goal.

Regardless of the systems - 4-4-2 or 4-5-1 - City have lined up in this season, there has always been that worry about the backline when the Blues' opponents have had possession, and the scenario wasn't any different against the Villains on Saturday.

Final Thought

Pellegrini, and City, would be relieved that they managed to secure all three points despite producing a sub-standard performance.

There is a major gulf between City of last season and this season, and it will be interesting to see how the hierarchy at the Etihad Stadium addresses the issues concerning the club.

Villa, though, performed very well and, personally, it wasn't surprising that this season's FA Cup finalists took the game to the hosts and very nearly reaped full rewards.