Jamie Jackson was at the Etihad to see City’s latest procession. Here’s his report: be about your business, clickity click! Thanks for reading this MBM. Stay safe and warm, everyone. Goodnight, Dick!
Here come the judge. “It was a fresh team against a very tired team,” begins Mourinho. “But a team that started the game very well, with the game completely in control. We hit the post, 1-0 would have given us fuel in the boys’ legs. Then one of these modern penalties - I call them modern penalties - to put us in a difficult situation. But I am very happy with the players’ attitude. I had guys on the pitch that played two hours a couple of days ago, they gave everything. We have guys in difficulty. Lucas was the one I took off at half-time, but I had other guys on the pitch in such a difficult situation. But great attitude and great dignity. Losing 3-0, a team that is not united or together would give up and be punished. But I saw guys like Harry, Pierre and Heung, just to tell you three names I could give you, give everything. So I have nothing to say against my payers, not even against a couple of defensive mistakes that are always present. But I cannot complain with the attitude.” A lot to unpack there. Enjoy, enjoy.
Rodri, who took the first penalty of his entire career this evening, explains the process to Sky. “I was a bit angry because we missed many penalties, so I said next penalty I will shoot. I grabbed the ball and no-one took the ball away from me. Fortunately I scored! [Silva gave me advice] telling me points about Lloris, where to shoot the penalty. I didn’t listen! I didn’t listen! Because many times it’s better to be focused on where you are confident, and I was confident to shoot that way. Luckily it was in. We were laughing in the locker room, next penalty I will take!”
As the players troop off, Mourinho ostentatiously hugs Kane, Son and a deeply unhappy Dier. His team will certainly need a pick-me-up after being casually swatted aside by City. It was another mesmerising performance from City and Ilkay Gundogan in particular. They’ll be hoping the groin injury he limped off with isn’t too serious. They’re seven clear of Leicester with a game in hand; eight clear of neighbours Manchester United with the same number of matches played. And they’re 13 points clear, with a game in hand, on Liverpool, the reigning champions but now an irrelevance in the title race. Spurs stay in eighth.
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FULL TIME: Manchester City 3-0 Tottenham Hotspur
City go seven clear of second-placed Leicester City with their 11th straight Premier League win, and their 16th in all competitions.
90 min +3: Mahrez dribbles in from the right but loses the run of his feet just as space to shoot opens up.
90 min +1: Another Spurs corner. Son swings it in. Ederson claims and sends Mahrez off on the counter. Davies takes one for the team, and receives his booking.
90 min: Silva cuts in from the right and goes for the bottom left. Lloris claims. There will be three added minutes.
89 min: Foden drifts into the box from the corner. He waltzes past the hapless Sanchez and pulls back for Sterling, who switches his feet and blasts for the bottom right. Lloris sticks out a leg and hacks clear.
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88 min: Cancelo’s looping long pass finds Sterling in space down the left. He wins a corner off Sanchez.
86 min: Sterling has a look down the right. The door shuts this time, but City are after a fourth.
84 min: Kane wins a corner down the right. The resulting set piece renders his effort a textbook exercise in futility.
83 min: Foden slips a pass down the left, releasing Torres in to acres of space. He’s got Sterling in the middle, but dallies and runs into trouble.
81 min: The Gareth Bale of 2013 turns up! On the edge of the D, he faces Stones, Silva and Laporte. He shimmies and shakes, and makes his way through! Just enough space and time for a shot. He rasps one towards the top right, but Ederson is up to it, and palms away. Shame, that would have been a lovely goal. As it is, it’s merely a lovely cameo.
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79 min: Son and Cancelo come together in the midfield. Son comes off worst. As he receives treatment, Mahrez comes on for Jesus.
77 min: Dier is yellow-carded for a frustrated clatter on Jesus. He socked it to him, if you will. OK, I’m going to stop this now.
76 min: Spurs continue to labour. You bet your sweet bippy.
74 min: Spurs are trying to piece together a response, but passing sequences in the final third seem beyond them. City are quite happy to sit back and let them flail about. “Thanks for reminding me how old I am,” writes Mary Waltz. “Picking up the Rowan and Martin reference and suddenly realizing that 89% of the MBM readers have no idea who they are.” They could always look them up in their Funk & Wagnalls.
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72 min: Here comes the lesser-spotted Gareth Bale, on for Lamela.
71 min: Spurs have collectively lost the head, to the point that Kane gives the ball straight to Foden while clearing up at a corner. Foden threads a shot towards the bottom right, but Lloris is good for this one.
69 min: A wee shake of the head, and Gundogan is replaced by Torres. City will be hoping that’s not too serious.
68 min: Gundogan - two goals, one assist - has been unplayable for the last couple of months, so City will be worried to see him seated on the turf, holding his groin.
GOAL! Manchester City 3-0 Tottenham Hotspur (Gundogan 66)
This is direct, but oh so beautiful. Ederson launches long. It’s Gundogan versus Sanchez. The Spurs defender has no idea where he is, or what to do. Gundogan takes a little touch to the right, then back to the left. As Sanchez is left sprawling, Gundogan passes daintily into the bottom right. An exquisite finish ... and not a bad assist from the keeper either! Give that man a penalty to take.
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65 min: Lamela is booked for a cynical tug on Cancelo’s shirt as the City right-back rampages down the middle.
64 min: Spurs need something different, so on comes Dele for Ndombele.
63 min: City are in complete control here. Metronomic passing. Spurs can hardly get a touch.
61 min: City have had 31 touches in the opposition box. Spurs have had four. City are doing this without Kevin De Bruyne and Sergio Aguero!
59 min: Sterling crosses long from the right. At the far post, Foden volleys it first time back to Gundogan, free in acres on the penalty spot. If Gundogan traps and takes his time, he surely scores. But he attempts a first-time swivel and volley, and times it all wrong. Spurs go up the other end, Ndombele having a speculative look from just inside the box, but it’s an easy claim for Ederson.
57 min: Foden grooves in from the left and enters the box. He’s charged off the ball by Tanganga, in the no-nonsense style. Foden wants a spot kick, but it’s not forthcoming.
56 min: Son crosses from a deep position on the left, but there’s nobody in the middle. An easy claim for Ederson.
55 min: City sit back and allow Spurs some sterile possession in the middle of the park.
53 min: A little bit of snow in the night air. Nothing settling yet, but poor Jose’s a-cold.
51 min: That’s a beautiful assist by Sterling, who shimmied around before clipping a gorgeous little diagonal dink infield for Gundogan.
GOAL! Manchester City 2-0 Tottenham Hotspur (Gundogan 50)
Sterling isn’t giving it up. He worms around the left channel and feeds Gundogan, who pokes a fierce shot towards the bottom left and through Lloris’s weak hand. Spurs in bother now.
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49 min: Sterling dribbles through the Spurs box from right to left. He can’t find space to shoot. He lays off to Foden. No space for Foden either. But no matter, because ...
47 min: A low-key start to the second period.
City get the second half underway. Spurs have made one change: Sissoko on for Moura. “My poor father is trying to watch this game online here in the States via NBC, but reports that every link he clicks takes him instead to the impeachment trail,” writes Nathan Tucker. “It occurred to me that watching the impeachment’s frustratingly foregone conclusion unfold is not unlike watching Spurs this season. Maybe someone at NBC is having a laugh.” The network that gave us Seinfeld, Cheers, Parks & Recreation and Friends, reduced to trolling for yuks? That it’s come to this. Rowan and Martin will be spinning in their graves.
Half-time reading. He’s not saying anything we hadn’t worked out for ourselves, but Jurgen Klopp has conceded the title in the wake of Liverpool’s latest capitulation. David Hytner reports.
HALF TIME: Manchester City 1-0 Tottenham Hotspur
There’s just enough time for Cancelo to send a curler into the top-left corner of the stand behind Lloris’s goal, and that’s the half-time whistle. As things stand, City are going seven points clear at the top of the Premier League.
45 min: There will be one added first-half minute.
44 min: City are coming at Spurs relentlessly now. Spurs could do with hearing the half-time whistle.
42 min: Sterling sashays down the right and reaches the byline. He pulls back for Gundogan, whose low drive is blocked by a superb Sanchez slide. The ball breaks to Jesus, who blazes over. City very close to doubling their lead.
40 min: Lamela is incensed enough to nearly talk himself into the book, but the referee wisely doesn’t double down on his error. Nothing comes of the resulting free kick, so we can put the whole sorry episode to bed.
38 min: Lamela is scissor-tackled by Jesus. No free kick. Jesus scampers away with the ball. Lamela bowls him over in frustration. Free kick this time. Philosophical debate ensues.
36 min: Sterling crosses from the right. Davies is right next to him, and the ball clips his arm. Sterling wants another penalty, but he’s not getting one.
35 min: See 33 min, except the free kick is out on the left, and this time it’s Zinchenko’s delivery that’s poor. Meanwhile here’s Simon McMahon. “Ah, the Ricky Villa channel (9 min). Number 81 on Freeview. Escape to Victory on after. Reckon I’ll watch both tonight. Or go rioting instead.” Don’t go out. Triangle’s on later.
33 min: A free kick for City out on the right. Everyone lines up on the edge of the Spurs box. Gundogan sends it straight down Lloris’s throat.
31 min: Silva is afforded an absurd amount of space down the middle, 30 yards out. Spurs are fortunate Silva takes one step too many before shooting, allowing Sanchez to close him down and block the shot, which goes looping into Lloris’s arms.
29 min: Davies barges down the left and is upended from behind by Silva, who goes straight into the book.
27 min: Laporte nearly finds Foden with a creamy long pass down the inside-left channel. A wee bit too strong, and Lloris is able to come out and clear.
25 min: Moura glides at speed down the inside-right channel, drawing a foul from Zinchenko. Spurs line up on the edge of the box, but the delivery of the free kick is no good and easily cleared by City. Lamela tries to retrieve the situation, and slides in recklessly on Jesus. Not sure how he’s got away without a booking, but this is what’s happened.
GOAL! Manchester City 1-0 Tottenham Hotspur (Rodri 23 pen)
City don’t half like missing penalties, and they nearly mess up this one too. Rodri aims towards the bottom left, but not with any particular conviction. Lloris gets a hand on it, but the ball pings up and into the top left. It’s in, but at this rate, it won’t be long before Ederson gets his chance.
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22 min: Ederson fancies taking it! But having reached the centre circle, he’s told to go back. It’ll be Rodri.
Penalty for Manchester City!
21 min: Gundogan is sent into the box down the left by Sterling. Gundogan tries to stop the ball dead, but is clattered clumsily on the ankle by Hojbjerg. The referee points to the spot.
20 min: Spurs look very dangerous on the counter. Lamela romps forward, with Kane and Son to either side, but he hesitates and the opportunity to release a team-mate soon evaporates. A nice open feel to this game, though.
18 min: Moura, Lamela and Son take turns to shuttle the ball upfield at pace. The ball ends up with Kane, out on the left. Kane tries to catch Ederson out with a long-distance curl towards the top left with the outside of his boot, but it’s always flying miles over. It would have been interesting had that gone in, because Silva was clearly upended by Davies down the other end to trigger the start of the counter.
16 min: Gundogan tries to release ... well, who? ... down the inside-right channel. Goal kick. City have enjoyed 78 percent possession so far, but it’s Spurs who have come closest to taking the lead.
14 min: Laporte hassles Kane from behind, and the Spurs captain takes the opportunity to go over and win a free kick just to the right of the D. He takes himself, and creams a sensational curler over the wall and towards the top right. The ball pings off the top of the post, just under the junction with the crossbar, and across the face of goal. Moura can’t do anything useful with the rebound, out on the left, and Ederson smothers. What an effort that was!
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12 min: Sterling makes his way down the left with some swagger, backflicking to allow Silva to sail past on the overlap. Silva reaches the byline but there’s nobody in the box to take advantage.
11 min: Cancelo, who has been quite sensational for City all season, turns on the jets and makes something out of nothing down the inside-right channel. He cuts back dangerously from the byline, but none of his team-mates have anticipated his burst and Spurs are able to clear. What a season Cancelo is having.
9 min: As well as being a preview of this year’s League Cup final, this is also a replay of the famous 1981 FA Cup final, and so Ndombele goes on a run down the Ricky Villa Channel. He nearly opens City up, too, but upon reaching the box can’t quite fashion space to shoot.
8 min: Cancelo finds Jesus on the edge of the Spurs box with a gorgeous curling pass from the right. Jesus takes two pots at goal, but Sanchez and Tanganga take turns to block. Fine football all round.
7 min: Kane drops a shoulder and sashays away from Gundogan and Jesus. A lovely smooth shimmy. But it’s in the centre circle, and there’s nobody further forward to help him in attack, and City eventually reclaim possession.
6 min: Foden probing again on the right. It’s going to be a long afternoon for Davies, as well as Son, who has been detailed to track back and cover.
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5 min: But they’ll have to keep their concentration at the back, and Foden again finds space down the right. He’s onside this time, but he can’t make anything of the good field position. A bright start by both sides.
4 min: Lamela bursts down the middle of the park, shrugging off the attention of Silva, and nearly releases Son with a long pass. Not quite, but there’s an early sign that Spurs haven’t come here to sit back.
3 min: Cancelo rolls a pass down the right for Foden, who is offside but wins a corner. Thankfully for those sick to the back teeth of manufactured controversy (yeah I know) Rodri heads harmlessly high and wide upon meeting the set piece.
1 min: And so the trial run of the League Cup final begins. A friendly exchange between old foes Mourinho and Guardiola before kick-off, incidentally. All pals.
Spurs get the ball rolling ... but only after the knee. There’s no room for racism. Kick it out.
The teams are out! City wear their famous sky blue, while Spurs are in second-choice green and black. Not long now!
Jose Mourinho talks to Sky Sports. “I don’t want to think about [how much energy Spurs have left in the wake of extra-time at Everton] because there is no point. That’s the way it is. If you want to compare City’s task and ours midweek in the cup, you cannot compare. They rested and we played two hours. But I don’t want to think about it. We are going to give everything and tomorrow we are going to have a day off which [the players] have not had for a long time, and the next match is Thursday. We can have a rest and start a new period. [City] are the top team now. They score lots of goals and don’t concede, they win matches. So of course it’s a very difficult task. But we believe and we are going to fight.”
Pep, relaxed and cracking wise in the tinder-dry style, also speaks. He reports that Dias didn’t train all week because “he had the fever and didn’t feel good”, and suggests that his midweek observation that, just because City are on a 15-game winning streak, they do not automatically start games 2-0 up, is “one of the more wise things I have ever said in my career.” A twinkle in his eye. Life is good when you’re on a record-breaking run.
Manchester City’s lead at the top was cut to four points earlier this afternoon by Leicester City. The Foxes demolished Liverpool in seven jaw-bothering minutes at the King Power; here’s how the champions collapsed in real time.
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Manchester City make two changes to the side that routed Liverpool at Anfield last weekend. Gabriel Jesus and Aymeric Laporte replace Riyad Mahrez and Ruben Dias, who both drop to the bench. Sergio Aguero, missing for over a month after contracting Covid-19, is named as a sub.
Tottenham Hotspur make three chances to the XI named for the nine-goal FA Cup thriller at Goodison. Harry Kane, Eric Dier and Japhet Tanganga, the latter making his first Premier League start of the season, replace Steven Bergwijn, Toby Alderweireld and Matt Doherty, who all drop to the bench. They’re alongside Gareth Bale, who has one cheek in the dugout, the other precariously balanced on Jose’s naughty step.
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The teams
Manchester City: Ederson, Joao Cancelo, Stones, Laporte, Zinchenko, Silva, Rodri, Gundogan, Sterling, Gabriel Jesus, Foden.
Subs: Walker, Dias, Aguero, Steffen, Torres, Mendy, Mahrez, Garcia, Doyle.
Tottenham Hotspur: Lloris, Tanganga, Sanchez, Dier, Davies, Ndombele, Hojbjerg, Lamela, Lucas Moura, Son, Kane.
Subs: Doherty, Alderweireld, Winks, Bale, Hart, Sissoko, Alli, Bergwijn, Vinicius.
Referee: Paul Tierney (Lancashire).
Preamble
On the face of it, this should be a shoo-in for Manchester City. The soon-to-be-runaway league leaders are on a record 15-game winning streak in all competitions, while Spurs have lost four of their last five, their only victory coming against Premier League patsies West Brom. Last week City scored four times at the home of the reigning champions; three evenings ago, Spurs shipped five across Stanley Park at Goodison. Form is a thing.
But then so are head-to-head trends, and Tottenham have had City’s number in recent times. They’ve won the last two meetings, both 2-0 wins in N17. As for the three matches before that, all at the Etihad: a 2-2 draw, a narrow 1-0 defeat, and a 4-3 loss that was nevertheless enough to knock City out of the Champions League. It’s without question that Tottenham will be the happier with the outcome of that particular bundle of fixtures.
Whether that will worry City or not is a moot point. They hadn’t won at Anfield since 2003, and look what just happened there. But the head-to-head will give Spurs hope they wouldn’t have necessarily otherwise had, were recent form all they had to go on. It’ll most likely be attack versus bus, but wouldn’t it be good if Jose tried to outscore the hosts in a shootout?! There wasn’t too much wrong with his forward line at Everton, after all. Either way: it’s on!
Kick off: 5.30pm GMT.
