Paul Merson claims Tottenham win over Manchester City papered over the cracks

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Paul Merson believes Tottenham were fortunate in their win over Manchester City at the weekend and suggests that manager Jose Mourinho still has plenty of work to do.

Spurs recorded a 2-0 home victory over Manchester City on Sunday in the Premier League and it’s a result that got them back in the top four race.

The North London club now sit fifth in the division table and are only four points adrift of fourth-placed Chelsea, who they face later in February at Stamford Bridge.

Spurs ended up with three points against Manchester City, but had to withstand an attacking onslaught from the visitors in the first-half and goalkeeper Hugo Lloris also saved a penalty.

But the game turned on its head when Oleksandr Zinchenko was sent off for Manchester City on the hour mark.

Steven Bergwijn then scored a debut goal and teammate Heung-Min Son was also on the scoresheet.

Sky Sports pundit Merson doesn’t believe Spurs fans should get too carried away with their latest win.

“It was a big win [for Spurs against Manchester City], but it just papered over the cracks, they are a million miles behind – it could have been 6-0 or 7-0 on any other day,” Merson told Sky Sports.

“They rode their luck, but give them credit, they stuck to the game plan and hung in there and got their lucky breaks.

“But you cannot sit there and say, ‘Mourinho is doing great.’ It was just an absolute run around in my opinion.”

TBR’s View:

Spurs certainly didn’t dominate the contest against Manchester City and were under severe pressure at times, but ultimately they managed to grind out a win and it was a big result for Mourinho.

His team are now firmly back in the picture to try finish in the Champions League positions and ending up in the top four would be a success, especially as key centre-forward Harry Kane is currently sidelined through injury.

It’s clear that the team still needs some improvements during the next couple of transfer windows, but there is exciting talent with new faces such as Bergwijn, Giovani Lo Celso and Tanguy Ndombele.