Fernandinho reveals what went wrong for Manchester City against Spurs

Manchester City midfielder Fernandinho has said that his side’s switch to a defensive formation played a part in their Champions League defeat to Tottenham Hotspur on Tuesday.

Having rested Kevin de Bruyne, City boss Pep Guardiola tried to contain Spurs’ game with two holding midfielders, Fernandinho being deployed alongside Ilkay Gundogan in North London.

City managed to create chances and were denied a first-half lead when Sergio Aguero’s penalty was saved by Hugo Lloris, but City eventually went behind to a second-half strike from Son Heung-Min.

Speaking to the Evening Standard, Fernandinho admitted that his side’s approach to the tie was part of the reason City must now up their game in next Wednesday’s second leg.

“You can see we played a little bit different, especially in a defensive way with two holding midfielders,” the 33-year-old said. “We tried to close the midfield because they try to concentrate their game in the middle.

“We tried to do that and we did so well, but at the end we conceded a goal. We are going to see if Pep likes it for the next game, otherwise we will change and try to go for the game and win the game.

“Of course it wasn’t the result we wanted, but this is a Champions League tie so we have the tie at home now.  I think we have all the conditions to play better and win the game and go to the semi-final.

“But it won’t be easy, we have to see what we did wrong to fix it and to play better next game.  When you lose any game the feeling is so bad.

“But you have to be professional and have to be clever and overcome this situation and try to work on that and try to fix the problem and solve for the next game.”

City’ next outing is away to Crystal Palace on Sunday, where they will looking to move back to the top of the Premier League.

Guardiola’s team will then return to Manchester, where they will be boosted by the news that Harry Kane could be out for the rest of the season.