Feb 02, 2026
3 min read
MOTD expert Danny Murphy explains why Manchester City's collapse from a 2-0 first-half lead to a 2-2 draw with Tottenham was not just a matter of tactics.
'Complacent and lost control' - Manchester City's second-half problems
The way Manchester City played in the second half is a concern for them, and it may end up costing them the title race for the Premier League.
After Sunday's 2-0 collapse in a 2-2 draw against Tottenham, City have now failed to look ahead at half-time in three of their last four league games.
The other times they have had to draw since the start of the year, at home to Chelsea and Brighton, have not seen the same dramatic drop in performance as in the second half against Spurs.
However, with three games to go, they will look back and think they had a chance to make the points safe.
Tottenham Hotspur's turnaround at the stadium has been the same post-holiday form for both teams - a rejuvenated and refreshed Spurs side, with some new personnel and different systems - and I think this is a satisfied City side.
Tactics mattered here, and Tottenham stopped playing City in the first half - but what further distinguished Spurs in their fightback was that their attitude and desire was far greater than City's.
In any sport, I always believe that if the team with better players can match the strength, passion and speed of the team with lesser quality and win important duels, they will win the game or have their lead.
I don't think City lost their way because Spurs suddenly had more quality than they had - it was more that Tottenham wanted more in the second half.
This worries Pep Guardiola, especially as his side try to put pressure on leaders Arsenal.
"October should know better"
There are two reasons why the quality of the team dropped like City did against Spurs in the second half of the game - mentally or physically.
Even though City have a lot of games in January, Guardiola has a big team that will change the team, so I don't see it as an issue - I think it's a bigger problem than they think.
What happened to them against Spurs happened to me as a player whose game was easy and you felt comfortable in the first half, you did not expect anything to happen.
Yes, you know that the opposition will struggle to fight back a bit, especially if you are out of position, but you just think that you will have the same dominance and as many chances as possible.
What is surprising is that if the game was a little bit more even before the break, he shot more in the second half, knowing that he had to shoot.
But because City were 2-0 up and probably should have had three or four goals before, they were so dominant that they probably closed down a bit.
They shouldn't have done this, because they have enough experience in their team to know more - but the most worrying thing is that this is not the first time something like this has happened recently.
First Half: 'City dominates and calms down'
In the first half, City were dominant, dangerous and looked totally composed - exactly the kind of performance I expected from them.
It was interesting that Guardiola played Antoni Semenyo and Erling Haaland together as a split two forwards and the four midfielders were very liquid.
When they were set up, Bernardo Silva stood next to Rudra and Nico O'Reilly and Ryan Cricke came in, a bit like Aston Villa.This caused Spurs all sorts of problems.
Another small adjustment that Guardiola made which I thought was quite clever was how they put pressure on Tottenham when the home team had the ball.
Silva is the player who left his situation, and the three middle-middle-middle-middle-middle-middle-middle-middle-middle-middle-middle-middle-middle-middle-middle-middle-middle-middle-middle-middle-middle-middle-year-in, together to join the first two to make a print.This is truly lead to the first of City's first goal.
Because the Spurs have been dull in their personnel, they have had some players out of place and in a system they have tried recently but don't always use.
They went six and seven down and as the first half wore on I wondered how many goals City would score.I just didn't see a way for Tottenham to come back into the game, but I was wrong.
Cristian Romero was forced off the pitch at half-time through illness, forcing Thomas Frank to switch to a back four, while Ross switched to a 4-4-1-1 formation with Randal Kolo Muani joining Dominic Solanke up front.
The midfield four was immediately reduced to reduce City's space.They couldn't get through so easily and as Spurs saw more of the ball, the home side grew in confidence and came back into the game.
The one-on-ones I talked about earlier were a big part of that - Spurs players would suddenly anticipate another ball and win a knockdown and get the ball high up the court.It was City who were now under pressure and looking nervous.
Second half: 'The city lost all control'
City lost all momentum and control, and had it not been for some brilliant saves by Gianluigi Donnarumma, they might have been beaten.
Usually, if you dominate the first half and the other team comes at you more after the break, you can face more pressure and concede more chances, but you have more space to break.
Although Franck left Jove Palhinha and Radu Dragusen with two each against Semenyo and Haaland to chase the game, that did not happen in City's game against Spurs.First, Spurs are more complacent, but because City's top two players are weak.
They didn't hold the ball well enough, or provide enough options at the back.I expect more from them in this situation.
Overall, though, I wouldn't say what happened was because City were bad or Spurs were brilliant - it was a combination of both.
Spurs did very well but City fell a few levels.The contrast between their performances between the first and second half was as stark as I've seen from Guardiola's side in a long time.
City have now won just one of the last six Confederations Cup games, and I think everyone will be surprised by their results because they have a lot of quality and experience.
The truth about their form is that they are not at the level they should be with the players they have
The reason I say that is not because of their past victories.Because in the first half I saw City playing like a team that was trying to catch up to Arsenal.A team on a mission that says "We Follow You"
Part of their decline in the second half was self-inflicted: giving the ball away, not winning challenges or second balls.It was very different from them, because we are used to seeing them manage games so well.
They are still not out of the title race as the difference is just six points and Arsenal have to travel to the Etihad Stadium.
City are still able to build on the long winning streak that got them over the line in the first place.But at the moment it seems that there is a mentality problem with some of their players.
Some of them - not all - seem to think that when they step up to the races they are done.That's not how you win the title and it's not the city we know.
Danny Murphy was speaking to Sports' Chris Bevan.
