Madders talks us through his City double - as a plan with Deki comes together at the Etihad
James Maddison has given us an insight into his goals in our memorable 4-0 win at City - including a pre-match plan with Dejan Kulusevski that worked to perfection.
Madders struck twice on his 28th birthday to put us in the ascendency 2-0 up at half-time in Saturday’s Premier League encounter at the Etihad. Pedro Porro drilled home for 3-0 seven minutes into the second half and Brennan Johnson wrapped it up in added time.
What a birthday for Madders! And we put to the playmaker post-match that both goals came from such intelligent runs - the first, running blind off Iklay Gundogan into the box from deep to volley home Deki’s cross, the second, a clever run back around Heung-Min Son to receive a reverse pass before clipping over Ederson.
Maddison's opener at the Etihad | Man City 0-4 Spurs
Here’s what James had to say. “Different goals, in a way. I actually said to Kulu before the game... he hadn’t played on the wing as much, lately, so being left footed on the right wing, with his ability, I said when you cut in, I can make that run from that space, that pocket in midfield, and as I’m running from deep, it’s hard for the back line to pick me up.
Our number 10 dinks in for his double | Man City 0-4 Spurs
“I’ve done it a few times this season from passes from Cuti Romero and deeper, where I make that run, but I’ve not actually scored. I’ve been getting chances, so I knew one would come soon. It was a brilliant ball in, I didn’t even have to break stride, so credit to Kulu.
“The second one, good link up with Sonny, I passed it to him and thought it would be cleverer to run around him rather than underneath him, which we do a quite a lot. I saw Kyle Walker quite high and found a tiny bit of space in the box, and just managed to execute a nice, delicate one over Ederson. I’m really happy with the two finishes. I always judge myself on goals and assists as an attacking player so, yes, happy.”