Full-time: Manchester City 1-2 Spurs
Peep! That’s a huge victory for Mauricio Pochettino’s side. A result that proves they have the bottle for a title race. Harry Kane, chest sticking out in proud peacock-style, shouts “come on!” as he thumps his shirt and salutes the ecstatic Spurs fans. What a victory for Spurs. What a damaging defeat for City. Are they also-rans now? One thing’s for sure, it’s been a good day for north London. Thanks for your emails and tweets. Bye.
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90+4 min: Lloris has just made the most wonderful interception to, most likely, secure the three points for Spurs. Agüero dinks a cross to the far post, where Ottamendi leaps and only has to nod home. But, from nowhere, a Lloris hand appears and takes the ball off the defender’s head. Brilliant goalkeeping. Silva then slams the ball over on the stretch. The jig’s up for City.
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90+3 min: Kolarov whips another ball into the box at Ottamendi, who can’t react quick enough to get his head on the ball and watches it slam into his body instead. Again, Spurs survive. But City come back …
90+1 min: Carroll has just emptied his lungs to prevent Kolarov getting a cross into the Spurs box. He concedes a corner. It’s whipped in dangerously but Spurs clear after some nervy moments.
89 min: Chris Wood has this thesis on team spirit: “Both Tottenham goals, scorer swamped by celebrating team-mates. City goalscorer celebrates without a team-mate within 30 yards. City really are synthetic construct.” Lamela has just run the length of the pitch to use up some of the four minutes that have just been added for injury time. Four huge minutes for both clubs.
87 min: Iheanacho tries to combine with Agüero in the box but the Argentinian’s touch has been heavy today. He turns and watches the ball squirm away from him as Iheanacho was overlapping in a dangerous position in the box on the left of him.
86 min: How important will that goal be? Spurs will go second, two points behind Leicester, if it stay this way. What a response to conceding. They kept about their business despite the pressure they were under, looking for every opportunity to steal the ball and break. And then they did. Devastatingly.
Goal! Manchester City 1-2 Spurs (Eriksen 83)
Well, well, well. I wasn’t expecting that. Spurs nick possession in midfield and Lamela, the man whose substitution I just questioned, drives at the heart of the City defence. He draws Kompany and Ottamendi and plays the ball cheekily – and delightfully – through the latter’s legs to Eriksen, who takes one touch and slots past the onrushing Hart as cool as you like from 12 yards. Lovely finish. And a fine substitution.
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82 min: Agüero shifts the ball on to his right foot but his shot at goal is blocked. It’s not been his day today. There’s still time, mind.
80 min: Lamela has sprinted on in Alli’s stead. That’s an adventurous substitution at this stage in the game. I’m not sure he’s the player you need to help quell the City pressure.
78 min: “Spurs have the slick streetwise Rose on the left and the cumbersome Walker on the right. It’s like Glenn and the Walkers from season 1 Walking Dead today,” offers Mr Dresner. I have no TV reference to add Mr Dresner as I’ve never seen the Walking Dead. However, Walker had looked shaky in the leadup to that goal. The chip in the fortified Spurs wall if you like.
76 min: And the man who created the goal is immediately taken off. Clichy is replaced by Kolarov. The City crowd sense that their team can turn this around here in the same way that Arsenal did earlier on. Touré slams a shot straight at Lloris from 20 yards. It’s down the French keeper’s throat but he chooses to punch such is the power of the shot.
Goal! Manchester City 1-1 Spurs (Iheanacho 75)
There’s that bit of magic. Well, I say magic. It was incredibly simple actually. Silva played a one-two with Clichy as Walker was caught on his heels and was slow to react. Clichy looked up and picked out Iheanacho on the penalty spot so very accurately. A swish of the Nigerian’s right boot evens things up. What a substitution.
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70 min: Carroll on. Son off. Spurs will become even more compact in midfield then. City will need to conjure some serious magic to get back in this. They’ve banged their collective head against the Spurs wall to no avail thus far.
68 min: Spurs are becoming more wasteful in possession. Walker has looked shaky on a couple of occasions, playing dangerous passes inside when looking after the ball like a special friend is what’s required. Kane is down. Rose looks like he’s about to kick it out but then jets off down the wing and, only when City players catch him up, does he kick it out. This riles the City players – and crowd. As a result City don’t give the ball back and launch another attack as Kane is getting gingerly back to his feet. The attack is snuffed out dutifully by the well-drilled Spurs defence.
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66 min: Iheanacho is on for Fernando. I can’t say I’ve ever seen Fernando do much. Ever. Well, at least Pellegrini is going for it.
65 min: Agüero has the chance to slide Sterling into the inside-right channel but he delays, doubts himself and then dribbles a woeful pass straight at Wimmer after leaving it too late. A wasted opportunity.
64 min: Alli wins a clever free-kick, showing wiliness beyond his years to wait for Clichy to throw in a tackle before tumbling over in the Didi Hamann style. That will help to relieve some of the pressure for a moment or too.
61 min: Agüero is starting to get busy. He’s making more runs across the Spurs defence and showing at every opportunity when Silva, Sterling or Touré pick up possession. He has a shot blocked by Alderweireld and then another jinking run is snuffed out a moment later. Danger signs, though. Spurs beware.
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58 min: That goal for Kane was his 15th in his last 17 Premier League appearances. He’s hot all right. Meanwhile Adam Hirst has little sympathy for Sterling: “If Sterling had faced up to that cross instead of turning his back… with his hands clasped behind him, then it never would have been a penalty.” But what if it had hit him in his precious little nose Adam? An unblemished plate is surely more important than a Premier League title. No?
56 min: Touré clatters the bar as he curls it round the wall towards the top-right corner. It’s actually quite central on second look but the dip on the ball probably had the beating of Lloris. Great effort. Yes, the game’s come to life all right. So have the crowd. The City fans are making a fair bit of noise. Probably because they’re incensed with that Clattenburg decision.
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54 min: Looking at the replay, that penalty shouldn’t have been. I’m not even sure that it struck Sterling’s elbow. It’s livened the match up at long last, though. Wimmer has taken Silva out and been booked for his trouble. The free-kick is 25 yards out on the right hand-side in a lovely spot. Touré and Silva stand over it.
Goal! Man City 0-1 Spurs (Kane 53 pen)
Kane sidefoots it straight down the middle. As cool as you like. What have City got to offer now? They need to get back in this.
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Penalty to Spurs!
52 min: And it’s harsh! Rose whips a cross into the box and Sterling leaps, back to goal only for the ball to hit his back/maybe his elbow. Clattenburg blows. Kane will take the penalty.
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50 min: City’s midfield shield of Fernando and Fernandinho seem very happy to stand off Spurs’ midfield and let them have the ball in their half. Only when they get within shooting distance do they step up the pace and try to snuff out the danger.
47 min: Rose bundles Zabaleta to the ground and concedes a free-kick in a good position for City, over by the touchline 30 yards from goal. It’s a weak delivery by Sterling but City keep it alive and Touré’s blocked shot loops into the air and falls to Agüero 15 yards from goal. But his right-footed finish shoots high into the air. It was a difficult ball to keep down but that was a particularly wayward strike by his standards.
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45 min: It’s the second half. And there’s a yellow card immediately for Kompany, who catches Alli late after Spurs were trying to pass their way through the middle of the park.
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Gun control
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So, for all Spurs’ dominance in possession I still felt that City were the most likely to score in that first half. City’s defence gave Kane no wriggle room and Spurs’ other attacking players didn’t get far enough forwards to cause Hart any great discomfort. As for City, I feel if they are to score it will likely come down the left where Walker was often outnumbered by Sterling and Silva. Spurs could do with trying to utilise Kane’s aerial presence too. Who knows? A messy clearance could give them the clear-cut chance they haven’t been able to create so far.
Kyle Walker made 6 interceptions in the first half, just two fewer than the entire Man City side combined (8). pic.twitter.com/8xcDyl3xk3
— Squawka Football (@Squawka) February 14, 2016
He really was busy wasn’t he?
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With little goalmouth action to discuss in that let me draw your attention to poor old Steve Ladgrove instead. He flew 25 hours from Australia to watch his second-ever Aston Villa game today. Oof!
Excited for my second ever @AVFCOfficial game today. Hopefully makes the 25 hour flight from Australia worth it! #avfc #avfcliv #upthevilla
— Steve Ladgrove (@steveladgrove) February 14, 2016
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Half-time: Manchester City 0-0 Tottenham
And that’s that. Loads of industry from Spurs. A few inventive moments from City. But honours even and rightly so. No one is worthy of being in front.
43 min: Sterling and Silva look to be the most likely lock-pickers for City today. The little England winger plays Silva into the inside-left channel with a delicately-weighted pass but City don’t have enough players forwards for him to pick anyone out. Spurs make a mess of clearing his low pull-back and get lucky when a clearance rebounds off Agüero and goes out for a goal-kick.
41 min: A corner for Spurs. Danny Rose wallops a volley at goal but Zabaleta bravely sticks his mean forehead in the way of it and diverts it over. He doesn’t even flinch. That must have had the force of a sack of spuds behind it. Impressive. Or maybe he’s just got a reinforced skull. Anyway, I digress. The corner comes to nothing because there was a foul by a Spurs player as it was whipped in.
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38 min: Spurs pass, pass, pass but don’t go anywhere with it. They look like the home side in the way they are controlling possession.
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35 min: Spurs press Agüero to within an inch of his life and watch happily as the Argentine blooters a cross-field pass backwards and out of play. City win it back quickly themselves, though, and Sterling has a dribble down the left but is halted by a physical challenge by Alderweireld. It’s a little scrappy suddenly.
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32 min: This match is almost as even as Manuel Pellegrini’s mood. Nothing between the two sides. Both are defending well and City, although I may jinx it now, look much better marshalled with Kompany at the back. I’ve been impressed with Wimmer too. He’s slotted into Vertonghen’s boots seamlessly.
30 min: City break and, after some sharp interplay, win a corner on the right. Sterling plays a deep outswinger towards the far post but Lloris is out and after it and he gets a firm punch to clear the danger. What a fine goalkeeper Lloris is. One of the world’s best.
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28 min: Spurs are having a very strong spell here. They’re picking passes through City’s midfield but in the final third the options dry up. Meanwhile, how about Yaya as a footballing cyborg?
@GreggBakowski Always thought peak-Yaya had a bit of the T-1000s about him, minus the liquid metal extend-o-arms. pic.twitter.com/bnQzST5d6b
— Panini Cheapskates (@CheapPanini) February 14, 2016
26 min: Eriksen stings Hart’s palms from 25 yards after a good spell of possession. The balance of power in this match is swinging one way and the other in absorbing style. There’s some quality football being played. Spurs look extremely composed when under pressure. City look dangerous on the break.
24 min: Wimmer then jumps in the way of Touré in City’s very next move, giving a free-kick away and doing well himself to avoid a yellow card. The free-kick is clipped to Kompany on the back post, who nods the ball back into the box for a mishit shot by Ottamendi that eventually falls to Sterling. He hammers a shot at goal but watches the ball bury itself in the midriff of Danny Rose, who throws himself at it and has every last breath knocked out of him for his effort. Poor Rose. He’s then stamped on by Fernandinho as he tries to clear down the line. Lay off him eh lads.
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21 min: Yaya Touré appears to have taken out Wimmer in the centre of the pitch. He slides in late with his left foot and thumps into Wimmer’s left ankle. Clattenburg, The Best Referee In The World TM, doesn’t see it though. Should have been a yellow. That’s two he’s got away with.
19 min: City are keeping the ball much better now. Fernandinho is doing a better job at linking the defence and attacking midfielders than he was early on. Again, Silva and Sterling combine on the left, but the resulting cross beats everyone and Spurs clear at the far post. I say it beat everyone, Agüero hadn’t even made it into the box. He was lurking on the edge, hoping to pounce on a poor clearance
17 min: Sterling drives forwards on the left wing. He checks his run and then dribbles a little ball through to Silva in the inside-left channel. The little Spaniard hits a cross-shot at the near-post but Alderweireld stands firm and knocks it behind for a corner. The corner doesn’t bother anyone. That was a much more fluid attack by City.
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14 min: Spurs are enjoying the greater possession here. They’re winning the ball back quickly and not wasting it. That said, they haven’t looked as threatening in the final third as City have in their few attacks so far. This is a balanced start by Mauricio Pochettino’s side, though.
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12 min: “TV commentators are beyond parody,” harrumphs Kevin Porter. You’re talking about Niall Quin I take it? “As the match kicks off Clattenburg is the World’s Greatest Referee deserving of the utmost respect they eulogise. Three minutes later he’s made a dreadful mistake not booking Yaya Toure. Because of course he didn’t have the ultimate view of the incident and the infinite wisdom of a pundit. Do they ever listen to themselves?” No, unless they really love the sound of their own voice. So yes, Robbie Savage probably does listen back to himself afterwards while stroking his hair and ego.
10 min: From the resulting corner the ball is knocked down towards Agüero, but the striker blasts over from eight yards as he was unable to get his knee over a ball that was just behind him.
8 min: City appear to be growing in confidence now. Silva is finding pockets of space and linking up play well in the final third. Agüero tries to flick a ball in to Touré, but Spurs stand firm and then Wimmer prevents a Sterling cross from reaching Touré – again! – after a smart burst into the box from the winger coming in off the left-hand flank.
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5 min: There’s a long round of applause from the Etihad crowd for a local band, Viola Beach, whose four members and manager (a City season ticket-holder) died tragically in a car accident in Sweden last night.
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4 min: Yaya Touré escapes a yellow card. Clattenburg lets him off for what looked like a bookable offence to me, presumably because it’s so early in the game. Very generous. Then Kompany shows signs of rustiness as Rose pings a cross in that the City captain controls heavily and almost gives Spurs a sniff of a chance.
3 min: But Clattenburg blows for a Spurs foul in the wall. That’s just a big waste of everyone’s time.
2 min: It’s a cagey start. Both teams standing off each other somewhat. Spurs have a little probe down the right hand side and find only closed doors. They go backwards and then try attacking through the middle. Dele alli is fouled and Spurs have a free-kick 25 yards out in a central position. Eriksen and Alderweireld stand over it …
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Peep!
1 min: Mark Clattenburg gives his whistle a shrill peep and we’re off. “Speaking of footballing cyborgs, Owen Hargreaves readily comes to mind,” offers an anonymous emailer. Yeah, I can see that you mysterious so and so.
Out they trot to Fatboy Slim’s Right Here, Right Now. There’s a lusty roar from the Etihad crowd (well, it is Valentine’s Day after all). They seem to be up for this. Let’s not forget, City will be after revenge after that 4-1 hiding they were given at White Hart Lane. Here we go …
The teams are lining up in the tunnels. Harry Kane, all slicked back hair and steely determination, looks focused. Vincent Kompany, well, he looks very relaxed given that’s he’s been out for some time. Let’s see what these contenders are made of shall we? Who’ll grasp the opportunity to close the gap to Leicester at the top?
I was going to tell you what Manuel Pellegrini and Mauricio Pochetino said in their pre-match interviews but, to be honest, having just listened to them they didn’t say anything remotely interesting. Well, apart from Pellegrini talking up Kompany’s fitness, which would seem a dangerous thing to do given his recent history.
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It’s ended Aston Shambles 0-6 Liverpool. Here’s a song for Villa fans. It’s a good one too: Wounds by Ryan Vail.
“We have now heard for 1.75 seasons how Spurs have an excellent squad, but they are screwed if Harry Kane gets injured,” begins Shaun Wilkinson. “Harry Kane has never got injured, even for a few games. Do they know something we don’t? Is Kane some kind of cyborg? If so, he is an extremely well engineered one. A hot topic for discussion - which footballer is the most likely candidate to actually be a cyborg? Robert Huth seems the most likely for me.” Igor Biscan was a robot. For sure. As for the current crop, Benteke? He’d be a malfunctioning one.
If you want to look in on Aston Villa’s humiliation at the hands of Liverpool, you can do so here. Just have a little peep, mind. It’s not pretty. There are 10 minutes of pain left.
Pep 2016 scarves! Bloody football.
So, Kompany is back for City. The stats this season show that when he’s in the team they win 75% of games. When he isn’t, that figure drops to just 50%. That’s a huge difference. Will he be match-fit enough to be so influential today, though? Gael Clichy is also brought in as is Fernando, who will allow Yaya Touré to influence play further forwards.
As for Spurs, Pochettino makes four changes. Kyle Walker, Danny Rose, Dele Alli and Son Heung-min all come in. Fresh legs. So how will they play? “Like lions, this is what all managers want and expect from their players, to feel and play,” said Pochettino before the match. “Or horses. Or tigers.” Make your mind up.
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Team news
Man City: Hart; Zabaleta, Kompany, Otamendi, Clichy; Fernando, Fernandinho; Silva, Toure, Sterling; Aguero. Subs: Kolarov, Caballero, Demichelis, Celina, Iheanacho, Aleix Garcia, Manu Garcia.
Tottenham Hotspur: Lloris; Walker, Alderweireld, Wimmer, Rose; Dier, Dembele; Son, Alli, Eriksen; Kane. Subs: Mason, Lamela, Vorm, Trippier, Chadli, Carroll, Davies.
Referee: Mark Clattenburg (Tyne & Wear)
Well, opportunity knocks. Leicester City’s 2-1 defeat by Arsenal has given the rest a whiff of blood. Spurs can go within two points of the league leaders with victory. Meanwhile, Manchester City, can go within three points and leapfrog their opponents today and move up to third. It feels like today’s game is more important for City than Mauricio Pochettino’s young Hotspurs. They’ve been poor against the top sides this season and that’s why they’re fourth and not first. They’ve been too often outworked by opponents. Put simply, City will have to run more today against probably the fittest team in the league if they’re to win it. Yes, we’re looking at you Yaya.
“We’re covering more distance than teams, we’re able to press teams and not give them a moment on the ball,” said Spurs full-back Ben Davies before the game. “That’s not just for 20-30 minutes, that’s throughout the whole game. The amount of goals and way we play towards the end of games really does show with the fitness, and as players you’re able to keep going for longer.”
Since learning that he’ll be replaced by Pep next season, Manuel Pellegrini has even more reason to be laid-back. Is it a big game Manuel? Manuel?. “It’s not a decisive game but a very important game - after we play for another 36 points. For our team, it’s important to try to return to the top of the table. Two or three teams are in front of us in this moment so we must try to reclaim the points.
“Maybe it was an unexpected defeat against Leicester. The last 11 games we lost just one before that against Everton in the first leg of a cup match we went on to win. We were in a good moment but now we must play well against Spurs.”
Spurs swagger into the game on the back of four consecutive league wins. City stumble into having been torn a new one by Leicester City. It’s time for Pellegrini’s side to lift it. Having Sergio Agüero in your team often helps in that respect. And Vincent Kompany, who starts today after recovering from his latest injury.
My prediction: Manchester City 1-2 Tottenham Hotspur
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