The buildup for this past Sunday’s Premier League games was massive – Leicester taking on Arsenal, and Spurs confronting Manchester City at the Etihad on the same day in what many hoped, indeed expected, to be over two hours of dramatic football.

And it many ways, it was. Two late winners from Arsenal and Spurs saw the North London rivals creep up on Leicester, while Manchester City has fallen by the wayside, six points from the top. Dubious calls by referees found their way into the games as well, much to the ire of fans – those partial and neutral alike.

When all is said and done, however, we have no clearer picture of who will win the league. After Leicester thrashed Manchester City, Pellegrini stated “There are 36 points to play for, nothing is finished.” Granted, there are 33 points to play for now, but his message remains clear and largely correct. We still have a long way to go in the season, and as much as SkySports or anyone else wants you to believe that this past Sunday was a title-decider, the title is still very much in the air.

Which works for Pelligrini just as well. Back-to-back defeats at home against Leicester and Spurs are a major blow to the Manchester blues. They are hardly decisive but nowhere near ideal either. Indeed these last two results are a mere microcosm of Manchester City’s poor form against the top 6 sides this season.

Manchester City had a chance to show that they were up to the challenge when Spurs visited them at the Etihad. Vincent Kompany, their talisman defender, came back after a long-term injury. Silva was cleared for action as well, and Sergio Kun found himself in classic goal-scoring form, scoring six in the last four league games. Both the Spaniard and the Argentinian were successfully smothered by Tottenham’s midfield and back-line, however this opened up space for other City players (more on that later).

From the very beginning of the match we saw what has become Tottenham’s trademark style in the league – hunting the ball down in packs, recycling possession towards the back 4, and ball distribution to the fullbacks on the flanks. Walker and Rose’s attacking capabilities were on display in the first half as Man City – much like Leicester – were somewhat happy to give up the flanks in order to protect the center. Of the two Rose was certainly the most adventurous and imaginative, however this is partially due to the fact that Walker was occupied with Sterling (a traditional wide man) whereas Silva centrally from the left, leaving a ton of space for Rose.

While his attack positioning is excellent, Rose must work on his final ball. He attempted 8 crosses from just outside the box, none of which met their target. Spurs have a great dilemma in having to choose from two very good fullbacks in Rose and Davies, but improving crossing and passing in the final third will give the former an edge over the latter.

Rose’s defensive capabilities were on display as well, the best example of this coming in the 23rd minute when he blocked a blistering shot from Sterling with his chest.

It was one of these failed crosses that happened to hit the arm and back of Sterling in the second half of the game, resulting in a penalty being awarded to Spurs. It was the most controversial call in the game, and one deemed incorrect by those blessed with replays, with possibly huge ramifications in the title race.

With that being said, Manchester City failed to test Hugo Lloris time and again. It is worth noting that they created almost triple the amount created by Spurs, a statistic that will not please Pochettino at all. Much to Tottenham’s glee City were wasteful. Aguero, as mentioned earlier, was coming off scintillating form but failed to replicate any of his cool finishing against the Lilywhites. Shades of Soldado were present as City’s star man failed to work Lloris.

Barring Aguero’s chance at the back post in the 1st half, and Yaya Toure’s two shots (a freekick that hit the woodwork and a cannonball of a shot parried by Lloris), Tottenham’s defense were able to snuff out any real threat at goal.

Manchester City were simply not clinical enough in front of goal for the majority of the game. I say majority because Iheanacho was the one positive outlier for City in the scoring sense. A beautiful cross by Gael Clichy found Ihenacho in the box and the young Nigerian was able to slot it home.

As great of a cross as it was, it was successful because it found Dembele lacking defensively. With Dier focused on Silva (as he was the whole game), Dembele was left with a bit more defensive work and tracking back than usual. The first time that Dembele didn’t track back, City pounced.

Apologies for the primitive paint techniques displayed ahead.

This is the exact moment that Clichy sends the ball into the middle of the box. Dier and Silva are marked by the orange ovals – it was Dier’s responsibility to keep tabs on Silva and press him should he receive the ball. Dembele should have defended the space marked in yellow instead of jogging towards it. Iheanacho (marked in the red circle) sees the space and attacks it, in a move that ends with a goal for City. Although the Belgian midfielder should have definitely defended the space better, it would be a bit unfair to come down on him hard considering that his overall play was sublime. Simply put, when you play against a team of Manchester City’s quality, you’re going to be punished if you turn off for even a second.

Lately, Pochettino has been showing a lot of wisdom in using his substitution options. His choice to bring on Carroll after Iheanacho had come on, but before he had scored, was a good decision. Although it backfired a bit after Iheanacho tied the game – since Carroll was brought on at the expense of a solid attacker in Son – it was a good move to counter Manchester City’s attacking shift. The home team struggled to control the middle of the park with Yaya Toure, Fernando, and Fernandinho. When Fernando came off for Iheanacho, it added great attacking impetus that paid off for city, but they also lost whatever control they had in the midfield.

I’m a big fan of Carroll’s forward passing. Throwing him on when we had the lead was the right move because City were much more susceptible to attacks in transition. In clearer terms – Tottenham could regain possession in the middle of the pitch due to more players occupying the area, and make one or two quick passes to open up City’s defense. In fact, this is exactly how Spurs were able to score the winning goal. Carroll was hardly involved in the buildup to Eriksen’s exquisite finish, but the point remains – subbing Lamela and Carroll in represented a small but imperative shift in the middle of the pitch.

In the game against Watford, Dele Alli was subbed on and notched the assist for the winning goal. This week, it was Lamela’s turn. Nacer Chadli has become known as a bit of a power sub among the Tottenham faithful, with a superb ability to affect the game off the bench. All of this shows not only the attacking depth that Tottenham currently has, but the drive and hunger within players that are on the bench.

Pochettino has slowly become quite adept at changing tactics and players around mid-game – an important attribute for any manager with desire to go from ‘very good’ to one of the best around. Now that the title is becoming perhaps a bit more real for Tottenham, Pochettino will have to keep up his effective rotation of players through the F.A. Cup and the Europa League.