Ange Postecoglou believes Spurs have banished any traces of self-doubt with their dominant 4-0 home Premier League victory over Everton – and he believes there is more to come from his exciting side.
In his second season in charged of the EPL club, Tottenham were held to a 1-1 draw by Leicester in their opener on Monday, much to the frustration of Postecoglou and his players, but they were creative and clinical as they eased past Everton on Saturday.
“I always have hope and I am optimistic at heart. You need to be in our game, there is plenty that can bring you down,” Postecoglou told reporters.
“The performance at Leicester was really good but when you don’t get the result there is always a bit of doubt there.
“We played well last match and dominated the game. Today was a bit different; the lads had a strong mindset and we got a really good goal early on and didn’t let off after that.
“The performance was good. It’s really encouraging for us. There is more. We want to keep performing.
“We created many chances, different kinds of chances, and I thought we handled their threat which they still are from set-pieces and long balls really well today. So there was a little discipline in both aspects of the game.”
Yves Bissouma netted his first Tottenham goal to open the scoring against Everton after he had been suspended by the club for the trip to Leicester having been caught on video inhaling nitrous oxide.
“It is a good start,” Postecoglou said of the midfielder. “He has still got work to do. I’m not doubting his footballing quality. We want to make him the best version of himself. That starts off the field as much as on it.
“He will only get there if, as we’ve spoken a few times, discipline is a big thing for him and I thought it was a disciplined performance for him today. Not just the goal he scored, but he had a really important job for us.
“He knew they’d sort of play fairly direct and he had to be there to mop up second balls and intercept things and he was clean for the most part in possession.”
With under a week remaining in the transfer window before it closes on Friday, Postecoglou suggested there may still be players arriving and leaving the club.
Tottenham have already spent a club record Stg 65 million ($A126 million) to sign striker Dominic Solanke from Bournemouth in this window.
“I think we have spent wisely,” Postecoglou said. “The players we have brought in are going to be fantastic for this club. We will see. There are still a couple of players we will look to move on. We’ll stay alert.”
Erling hurtling towards legendary numbers
Pep Guardiola has backed Erling Haaland to reach goal figures like Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo after the Manchester City striker added to his “ridiculous” record with a hat-trick against Ipswich.
The 24-year-old scored his 10th treble in sky blue as the Premier League champions bounced back from Sammie Szmodics’ shock opener for Kieran McKenna’s promoted side on Saturday.
Haaland’s spot-kick quickly cancelled that out and, after Kevin De Bruyne punished an Aro Muric error, the sharpshooter put City further ahead at the Etihad Stadium.
The Tractor Boys battened down the hatches after a wild opening 16 minutes, but the Norway international would not be denied the match ball as he rifled home two minutes from time to make it 4-1.
“I think he feels better than the previous season,” Guardiola said of Haaland.
“After we won the treble, he struggled to handle it, and maybe not too much holidays. I remember at the beginning he said ‘still I’m tired, still I am a little bit drained’.
“This season after no Euros, he relaxed and arrived really well. We talked a little bit in the States (on City’s pre-season tour), like I didn’t like some things and he changed his mind.
“Of course he cannot play all the games until the end of the season, but you know how important he is, the numbers, scoring goals and goals, it’s unbelievable.”
Put to Guardiola he already has as many Premier League hat-tricks – seven – as Manchester United’s all-time top scorer Wayne Rooney, the City boss said: “He did it in Salzburg, he did it in Germany. Yeah, the numbers are ridiculous. Ridiculous.
“So, he can compete in terms of goals with Cristiano (Ronaldo) and Messi. The numbers are unbelievable at his young age, the amount of goals, and he is an incredible threat for us.
“We are really, really happy to have him, and hopefully he can be here for many, many years. It would be really good for us.”
Ipswich’s first-ever visit to the Etihad Stadium ended in a heavy loss but manager McKenna was proud of his players’ efforts against a side chasing a historic fifth straight Premier League crown.
“We got off to a fantastic start, scored a great goal in the transition,” the Town boss said of his side, which included former Socceroos’ international Massimo Luongo.
“Then, of course, the game was lost in a five-minute spell where there’s some big lessons for us to learn, and I’m sure we’ll do that.”
United boss in strife after going down late
Two games into the Premier League season, and the scrutiny is already back on under-pressure Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag.
Joao Pedro was left unmarked to head home in the fifth minute of injury time to give Brighton a 2-1 home win over United on Saturday in a game that showed that the inconsistencies that plagued ten Hag’s team still haven’t been eradicated.
Pedro headed home a cross from Simon Adingra to secure a second straight victory for Brighton at the start of their first season under 31-year-old coach Fabian Hurzeler.
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Arsenal recored a fine 2-0 win at Aston Villa, a team the Gunners lost to twice last season before losing the title by two points to City.
Also on Saturday, West Ham won 2-0 at Crystal Palace, Fulham earned a 2-1 home win over Leicester and Nottingham Forest won 1-0 at Southampton.
The defeat at Brighton was extra tough for United to take as the visitors had a potential winner ruled out in the 70th minute for an almost comical offside.
Alejandro Garnacho’s shot from a tight angle was heading into an empty net when it deflected off the knee of the sliding Joshua Zirkzee just before it crossed the line – causing the goal to be ruled out as the Dutch striker was offside.
“We thought we scored the winning goal, and it’s so bad luck that the ball is on the line,” said ten Hag, who was under heavy pressure last season but was retained after leading United to the FA Cup.
The discussion about whether he’s the right man to lead United will doubtless be rekindled after a loss that featured missed chances and poor defending.
“You can’t drop points so unnecessarily,” ten Hag conceded. “If you protect the goal like we do, you drop points. We have to do better in certain occasions.”
Earlier, former United forward Danny Welbeck had opened the scoring for Brighton in the 32nd, while United equalised on the hour when Amad Diallo’s shot was deflected into the net by the sliding Jan Paul van Hecke.
For a brief moment, promoted Ipswich were in dreamland when new signing Sammie Szmodics put them ahead early at Man City.
But three goals in less than four minutes from the hosts – two from Haaland, sandwiched by another from Kevin De Bruyne – quickly restored order.
Haaland completed his hat-trick in the 88th minute to make it four goals in two games.
Leandro Trossard and Thomas Partey both struck in the second half for Arsenal’s statement win over Villa.
Everton might be heading for another relegation fight after a mauling at Tottenham which could have been worse.
Yves Bissouma opened the scoring for Spurs in the 14th minute with a thunderous strike.
He had been suspended for Tottenham’s opening 1-1 draw at Leicester after uploading a video to social media of himself inhaling laughing gas, but Bissouma thanked Postecoglou for his recall by running up to the Australian and giving him a hug after his goal.
Son Heung-min added the second in the 25th, then made it 4-0 in the second half, six minutes after Cristian Romero had headed home a corner.
with AAP
The Roarhttps://https://ift.tt/hVTMbZX 2.0: ‘We dominated the game’ – Spurs looking slick after thrashing Everton, City flying, United slip up late
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