Brendan Rodgers drops unsubtle hint over transfer as Tottenham give proof of top-four myth

While Brendan Rodgers did not call out Caglar Soyuncu by name, the manager was not subtle in his criticism of the incident involving the Turkish defender that led to Tottenham Hotspur’s second goal.

Soyuncu and Cristian Romero were both rushing in to compete for the loose ball, but it was not a 50-50. The ball was rolling towards Soyuncu, so the odds were in his favour.

But he lost out. Romero’s crunching tackle pushed the ball forward, Dejan Kulusevski found Son Heung-min, and he found the bottom corner. Soyuncu was still on the floor.

On first viewing, it seemed Soyuncu pulled out of the challenge, but that may be a harsh assessment. It could also have been indecision, the centre-back shaping his body as if to play a first-time pass before a late change of mind to try to dribble by Romero’s lunge.

But whichever, it is not a mistake that a defender can afford to make, especially if they are going to stay down, rather than get up and track back to try to recover. Without one of their back three, City’s defence was exposed, and they could not reorganise in time to stop Spurs scoring.

Soyuncu has, in general, been better over the past couple of months. Since the change in formation and the return of Wesley Fofana and Jonny Evans, he has defended with more composure and more concentration. There have been fewer mistakes.

He was good for the most part against Spurs too, rushing out to put the attackers under pressure when they received the ball to feet. But the error for the second goal, and Rodgers’ post-match comments, again shone a spotlight on his future.

After the game, Rodgers again said the only way to solve the lack of aggression in his back-line was through new personnel in the summer. It’s understood that City