Spoiler alert: Our three stars and three dudes from Man City’s 4-1 demolition of Spurs fall neatly along club lines.
[ MORE: Match recap | 3 things from the Etihad ]
Three stars
- Kevin De Bruyne -- Short of Lionel Messi, is anyone anywhere near the Belgian’s level right now? The passing, the shooting, the resilience in the face of constant fouling; KDB is a magician.
- Leroy Sane -- The 21-year-old has more than justified his $62 million price tag -- as much as such a thing can be justified -- with terrific service, blinding pace, and wise reading of the game.
- Ilkay Gundogan -- His header ushered City in front and he could’ve scored a second, but the ex-Borussia Dortmund man was a marshall in the middle of the park.
Three duds
- Dele Alli -- Hasn’t scored since bagging a brace against Real Madrid on Nov. 1, and had miserable positioning when Gundogan headed home the opener. Then stamped Kevin De Bruyne with an outrageous blade in the second half. Not being sent off is hilarious;
- Kieran Trippier -- For as dangerous as Trippier can be moving forward, he was out to lunch as Leroy Sane and Kevin De Bruyne -- might wanna mark them, fella -- raced down the left to make it 2-0 City.
- Hugo Lloris -- Spurs’ sensational goalkeeper didn’t have many moments in him at the Etihad Stadium, dribbled around for the final goal.