‘Ruined it for us’: Lucas Bergvall explains Ange Postecoglou’s angry half-time Tottenham message vs Man City

Lucas Bergvall revealed the frustration Ange Postecoglou expressed at halftime during Tottenham Hotspur’s 1-0 defeat to Manchester City.

Erling Haaland’s first-half goal proved decisive, handing Spurs another disappointing result that saw them slip back to 13th place as Crystal Palace moved ahead of them in the standings.

Despite a much-improved second-half performance, Tottenham’s sluggish start ultimately cost them the match, and Postecoglou made his feelings clear in the dressing room at the break.

Bergvall shared that Postecoglou was visibly unhappy with the team’s first-half display, emphasizing that their lack of urgency and poor execution had effectively decided the game before the second half even began.

His message resonated to some extent, as Tottenham emerged with more intensity after halftime, looking far more threatening and creating several scoring opportunities.

Speaking to SpursOfficial, Bergvall explained that the manager was critical of their lackluster first-half performance, stating that their failure to impose themselves early on allowed City to dictate the game. While their response in the second period was encouraging, the damage had already been done, making the final result a frustrating one for the team.

The contrast between Tottenham’s first-half and second-half performances was evident in the match statistics. In the opening 45 minutes, Spurs struggled to create meaningful chances, managing just two shots and failing to register a single big chance.

Their expected goals (xG) tally of 0.05 highlighted their lack of attacking threat, while Manchester City controlled proceedings comfortably. However, after the break, Postecoglou’s side showed significant improvement, increasing their possession, registering nine shots, and generating an xG of 1.28.

The introduction of key players and tactical adjustments contributed to this shift, with Wilson Odobert, Son Heung-min, and Pape Matar Sarr all finding themselves in promising positions to score.

Despite the encouraging response after halftime, questions remain over Postecoglou’s initial team selection. Key attacking threats like Son and Dejan Kulusevski started on the bench, along with Djed Spence, who could have provided more defensive stability.

While the second-half resurgence demonstrated Tottenham’s potential when playing with urgency and intent, their inability to start the game on the front foot ultimately cost them the chance to secure a positive result.