Why are Spurs Pep’s achilles heel?

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Pep Guardiola has dominated world football since he took the reins of his beloved Barcelona in 2008. Despite his success there is one opponent that continues to defy the status quo, a thorn in the side of Pep, North London based Tottenham Hotspur.

In his career spanning 16 seasons, Guardiola has battled Tottenham on 16 occasions, with a majority of those coming since he began as Manchester City manager in 2016. He has been victorious in eight of those sixteen, managing a draw twice and suffering defeat six times. This is his second lowest points per game record against a Premier League team, behind Liverpool who have been one of the best teams in world football for the past five seasons.

His biggest managerial rival, Jurgen Klopp, has pushed City to near footballing perfection, breaking Premier League record after Premier League record, whether it be the most goals scored in a single season, the most points won in a single campaign or the longest winning streak in the competition’s history.

Pep has managed to cultivate an atmosphere of invincibility in Manchester not seen since the red half’s dominance under Sir Alex, but despite this dominance, Spurs continue to be a stumbling block.

Spurs have been characterised by inconsistency since Mauricio Pochettino’s electrifying spell in North London came to an end, managing to miss out on Champions League football in two of their last three seasons and currently sit fifth in the league. One thing they have been able to consistently achieve is victory against City and Pep.

Spurs have won four of their last six Premier League meetings against Guardiola, achieving the league double over City in the 2020/21 season. This lack of success is not solely on Pep’s shoulders as many of his star players have struggled to perform in this fixture, with midfielder Kevin De Bruyne not registering a goal or an assist in his last four appearances against them.

Despite his uncharacteristic lack of success against Spurs, Pep is without argument one of the greatest football managers to have graced the game and will go down in history alongside Sir Alex Ferguson, Arsene Wenger and Jose Mourinho, as the greatest to manage in the English Premier League.

Photo: Twitter @pundit_jay

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Dylan Johnson