Manchester City’s stadium is a tense place to be. A journalist was subjected to extreme verbal abuse by a supporter at half time during the match with Tottenham Hotspur – and that was when the score remained level at 0-0. Another journalist was recognized and denigrated after the match.

Pep Guardiola’s personal staff, meanwhile, have created more sensitivity to what is written about him than any other City manager in the past decade. And out in the technical area on Saturday evening, the man himself looked like he was about to internally combust. When Tottenham pulled a goal back he whipped off his overcoat, which the nearest available member of the security staff found himself ferrying back to the dug-out. When Tottenham equalised, Guardiola made to remove another layer but thought better of it and kept his jacket on. This trigger reaction of his is not advisable in the depths of the English winter.

In the aftermath, Guardiola plunged into the same debate as every other manager about the supposed failure of referees to do the right thing. “Maybe one day Mike Riley will explain to me. When [Raheem Sterling] is pushed, I don’t understand,” he said. The frustration was understandable, though Guardiola was the one who told us a few months ago that he was above the usual infernal public questioning of officials.

City’s dropped points were wretched, of course. It was a sting Tottenham carried out on them; nothing less than a heist. But the significant aspect of the 2-2 draw was that it underlined what incredible potential Guardiola’s team have and what extraordinary tactical and technical contributions he brings. Considering the noise which followed City’s 4-0 defeat at Everton, you blinked at the sight of the way he arranged his players to face the Tottenham team who arrived to paeans of praise: a three-man City defence shielded by Yaya Toure. What looked like a kamikaze formation then blew Tottenham away. From City, it was the kind of death by pressing that Tottenham had doubtless intended to be the practitioners of in this match.

And what individualists, too. Kevin de Bruyne, Raheem Sterling, Sergio Aguero and Toure, though above all the sheer sublimity of David Silva, all 5ft 7ins of him orchestrating play from the back of the midfield for much of the time. Every opposition manager speaks of Silva. Roberto Martinez once confided that he is near unplayable. Yet he still does not receive the acclaim beyond Manchester which is his entitlement.



City’s defence then creaked again and ruined the picture. Gael Clichy failed to close down Kyle Walker for an equalising cross and Nicolas Otamendi dithered as Spurs scored their first. But the necessary changes for the club are as clear as day. Guardiola’s team are not far from the finished article, once he has sorted out his defensive personnel and accepted that the decision to bring in Claudio Bravo was a dreadful one. (The goalkeeper has seen 16 of the last 24 shots sent in on him disappear into his net.)

Tottenham’s defence is more secure of course. It’s why they have conceded 12 goals fewer than City, whose rearguard is the most porous in the Premier League’s top eight. But Spurs’ own performance confirmed a pattern, established by defeats at Chelsea and Manchester United, that they are not the same force when travelling to face strong, experienced sides who also possess a plan and quality players. Beautiful and enervating though the Tottenham story is, clearing the final hurdle requires a seasoned winner and leader or two at the core of the ranks.

Pep Guardiola's nervous energy is infectious, but it may be putting the whole club on edge (Getty)

In short, City are the more complete force of the two, even though they trail Tottenham by three points. The white heat of the scrutiny they face is searing, of course, but where they could really help themselves is by introducing a little humour into the equation. That Etihad tension exists because they and their manager take things so astonishing seriously.

The club’s Spanish senior management have contributed to that. Their Project Pep preparations have entailed dismantling a lot of the infrastructure that was set up in the early years under Abu Dhabi ownership, by the unfairly maligned chief executive Garry Cook. In the past, some of the back room staff were a safety valve when the tension became a bit much. There was more than one individual among the ancillary staff to whom some of the more introspective players turned to, to help release the pressure. That deep thinker Edin Dzeko, among others, would attest to the fact. Those individuals have been removed from the picture now.

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