The first half had gotten off to an exciting start after the sudden counterattack from Tottenham, but with them losing possession of the ball the dynamic of the game changed somewhat.
Man City was already a team that was good at keep possession, staying patient and slipping through like ghosts the moment a crack appeared in the defense, and with Tottenham choosing to sit back to defend, this led to much longer spells where Man City having the ball.
The match soon turned into one where Man City almost always had the ball while the Tottenham stayed compact in the midfield and defense.
Every once in a while, they would leave a space for the Man City players to try to play through, but often times it was a trap that they used to quickly surround the player with the ball and steal possession before the tried to launch a counterattack.
