Manchester City 3-3 Tottenham: Something not quite right at Premier League champions, says Micah Richards

Micah Richards worries that Manchester City's defense is currently missing and their struggles to manage games towards the end might lead to them losing their fourth consecutive Premier League championship.

On Super Sunday, Tottenham managed to achieve a thrilling 3-3 draw at the home of the defending champions thanks to a last-minute equalizer from Dejan Kulusevski.

The City team had a much higher predicted chance of scoring (based on Expected Goals or xG) compared to their opponents, with a score of 2.64 compared to just 0.49 for the opposing team. However, they were not able to maintain their lead and the game ended in a tie, preventing Spurs from losing for the fourth time in a row in the Premier League - something that hadn't happened in almost two decades.

The team playing at home will regret not being able to convert their scoring opportunities. However, despite being at a disadvantage, the team playing away didn't give up and managed to earn a draw thanks to Kulusevski's impressive header towards the end of the game, pleasing coach Ange Postecoglou.

Sky Sports received a statement from Richards wherein he expressed his concern regarding Manchester City's gameplay. According to him, there is something off about the team; their opponents can easily take advantage of their counter-attack strategy and they continue to make individual mistakes.

Finishing the game strongly requires keeping your focus. It is crucial to stay attentive in critical moments, but they failed to do so.

Props to Spurs, they were incredible. They managed to crack the code. However, the Man City squad has noticeable holes in both the midfield and defense. At present, they lack proper organization.

The decline is apparent. The City team heavily depends on their forward players to rescue them. Typically, when the score is tied at 1-1, the City attackers are able to score two or three more goals.

Currently, that is not transpiring. Nevertheless, they have authorized teams to participate in matches and they need to improve their defensive efforts.

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Manchester City has been unable to win in three consecutive Premier League games, even though they have been leading in all of them. This is the first time that this has happened to them since they drew three times under Mark Hughes in November 2009.

Ruben Dias is considered as a top player in the league, but Nathan Ake has to improve his performance to prevent a goal like Kulusevski's header. These were errors made by individual players. Their defensive abilities are not strong enough, causing opposing teams to lose their fear and challenge them.

Pep Guardiola's team was in the lead with a score of 2-1 at halftime. Phil Foden scored a goal, while Heung-min Son scored on both ends. However, Giovani Lo Celso managed to get a great shot in and brought the score to 2-2.

Spurs made many mistakes, giving City the opportunity to win easily. However, City suffered the consequences of their lack of efficiency. The statistics demonstrate that there has been a decline in performance over the last four games in the league.

Is it becoming simpler to face City now?

In simpler terms, Richards expressed that John Stones is effective in stopping opposing team's attacks when he moves up to the midfield position. Whereas, Manuel Akanji, though a skilled defender, does not perform as well in halting attacks while in midfield. Richards pointed out that Akanji is either too far ahead or too far behind the ball.

In my opinion, the desire to win the championship once more remains strong. I have no doubts about that. Considering they have won the championship for three consecutive years and clinched the treble last season, it's natural to lose some motivation along the way.

Keane has pointed out that while City are scoring lots of goals, there seems to be an issue with their defence. He has observed that while City's attacking prowess is impressive, something is not quite right at the other end of the pitch.

Roy Keane from Sky Sports stated that having won a couple of trophies, observing the hunger and passion in the locker room is crucial, and he believes that the manager possesses such qualities.

When analyzing the initial goal scored by Spurs in the game, it becomes evident that the goalkeeper could have stopped it easily. This is something that he would have been able to do last year. Additionally, Haaland failed to capitalize on a few opportunities he had throughout the game, which he typically would have scored.

When footballers have a slight dip in performance and they have maintained an exceptional standard for quite some time, it's difficult to find flaws with Manchester City. However, during these off moments, one can't help but wonder what could be lacking within the team.

Although they are still able to score many goals, there is a clear concern over their defensive performance in the past few weeks. Even just a slight decrease in defensive abilities can greatly affect the outcome of their games.

City has had three straight draws, causing more disappointment as Rodri received a yellow card, making him ineligible to play in the upcoming match against Aston Villa. In addition, Jack Grealish, who used to play for Aston Villa, will also be unable to play due to suspension.

Richards mentioned that Grealish is his friend, so he has more concern about him. However, he believes that his current value of £100m and his score of goals and assists do not meet the standards we are looking for.

However, his presence still makes an impact on the game. While Doku may receive more attention, his statistics are not as impressive as his counterpart's. It was important for him to have that defining moment where he proves himself amidst doubts and scrutiny.

When he stepped onto the field today, he should replicate that behavior more frequently.

In Villa, he used to swiftly move past other players and make impressive goals. However, in his current team, he seems to be holding back and not performing to his full potential for unknown reasons.

Players like Mahrez may not have played their best game, but they were still able to score goals and provide assistance during the match.

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In a recent episode of The Gary Neville Podcast, Gary Neville shared his thoughts on the football match. He mentioned that he expected some difficulties from the Spurs team, but he didn't anticipate them to be a significant threat and believed they would lose badly. Neville was surprised by the fact that Spurs were able to stop City from scoring and was shocked that City let in three goals.

Today, there is a trend that is noticeable. The team known as City failed to take charge of the game. They did not show enough concern for the risks involved in the match. As a result, this can be described as being too comfortable and not vigilant enough.

It was a common occurrence after winning the league in past seasons - our manager would ask if we were getting bored upon our return. It seemed like we were just waiting for the excitement of a major game. However, there were always signs to indicate something was off.

We have an issue with City. We are used to seeing them push themselves and not perform in this manner. It appears that they have developed a habit of being too relaxed and assuming that winning is a breeze. It is unusual for Manchester City to have let nine goals in four games.

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"Draw: Impact On Arsenal, Liverpool & Title Race"

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Jamie Carragher, a sports analyst from Sky Sports, stated that the Manchester United squad will struggle to win any major trophies this season. In his opinion, the team is not currently playing at a high enough level and lacks the necessary quality to compete with other top teams. Carragher believes that missing out on key players during the recent transfer window has also contributed to their struggles on the field. Despite this, Carragher still acknowledged the talent within the Manchester United squad and believes they have the potential to improve with proper coaching and strategy.

It's not a new sight for Man City to go on a winning streak in the latter half of the season and distance themselves from the competition. They've done it before, racking up 10 or even 12 victories in a row.

Perhaps this time around, Arsenal will bring their know-how and be more resilient in challenging situations. It's no secret that Liverpool has already been through it all with their coach and likely about half of their players."

"It extends the competition and there's a possibility of having an undecided winner until March or April."

The opinions expressed by Sky Sports analyst Roy Keane: At this point, I cannot determine the blog section being referred to. However, if this were the case, as an AI language model, I am not capable of expressing opinions as I operate based on pre-existing programmed data and algorithms.

I wouldn't put money on Man City winning, but now I'm beginning to question if they can actually claim the title.

There is a reason why this achievement has not been accomplished continuously for the past four years. It's difficult to sustain the necessary levels of commitment and drive, especially when injuries occur and key players experience a decline in performance.

Definitely, I have my eye on Arsenal and Liverpool, especially Arsenal due to their strong and extensive lineup and the knowledge gained from last year's experience.

Spurs Deserve Credit, Says Keane

Roy Keane from Sky Sports:

Tottenham deserves high praise for their incredible performance. Despite giving up several chances in the first half, they turned things around and began the second half strongly. And ultimately, their comeback at the end was truly remarkable.

In previous times, I used to frequently nitpick at Spurs. However, I must commend them for their exceptional display. They showed immense audacity and valor to stage a comeback in the match. Their offense was impressive, and they noticeably strengthened their defense in the central position.

"They persevered, they made it through. If you examine the numbers, one could argue that City missed an opportunity. However, taking into account the absence of their key players, they persevered."

It was a huge advantage for them to score three goals while playing as visitors. They posed a constant danger to their opponent's goal, even though they seemed disorganized in the first half. Nonetheless, it was clear that they had the potential to score goals.

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"They deserve full recognition and acknowledgement for that."

The famous sports personality Jamie Carragher from Sky Sports said:

Ange Postecoglou should be given recognition, and this has been the case not just recently. The team's recent form has been very unfortunate.

Having good luck is important when things are going well, and at the beginning of the season, the team had it. However, in the last three consecutive games they lost, they made critical errors that ultimately caused their downfall.

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In several of those games, their performance wasn't as bad as this. However, I believed that if two or three players carried the ball near their own penalty box, it would result in a disadvantage for them.

They have earned the point by experiencing multiple instances of misfortune.

In my opinion, Tottenham has always been an excellent team in their efforts to compete for a spot in the top four. However, I don't think that Tottenham will be involved in any race for the title.

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What the manager stressed out before the game was that their game plan might be questioned today. However, the main focus is not just for the present moment but also for the future of Tottenham Hotspur for the next two to three years to turn them into a legitimate force.

He won't make any alterations, instead he's attempting to establish certain values within the club. He was rewarded in the latter half of the game.

The manager instructed Son's team to increase their gameplay, which resulted in them performing much better during the latter half.

On Wednesday at 8.15pm, Manchester City are set to face a challenging match as they travel to Aston Villa. After that, they will be heading down south to play against Luton on Sunday at 2pm. This game will be broadcast live on Sky Sports.

In the meantime, Tottenham will be welcoming West Ham in an intense London derby on Thursday at 8:15 pm. Following that, Newcastle will travel to North London for a match on Sunday at 4:30 pm, which will be aired live on Sky Sports.