Daniel Taylor was at the Etihad. Here’s his take on a dramatic match that bordered on the surreal. Enjoy his report, and thanks for reading this one. Nighty night!
Pep Guardiola reflects on his team’s disappointment with trademark class. “We played incredible against the second best team in Europe, the finalists of the Champions League, so I am so proud. The amount of shots we created was incredible. But the result is all that counts. We would like to win, because the guys deserve it, but football is like this.” As for the dramatic disallowed goal? “Deja vu. It was the same! The last action, we score, and VAR disallows it. So what should I say? The second time, it’s tough, but it is what it is. It’s the new rules.” He then cites a couple of poor decisions in the Super Cup final. “So they have to fix it. VAR is here. The images are not clear, but if they think it’s hands ... now we have to accept it. It wasn’t a penalty in the first half, which I found incredible. But we move forward.”
A very content Mauricio Pochettino speaks to Sky Sports. “I am in love with VAR! Sometimes you get the benefits. Today and in the Champions League. You cannot stop the progression of the technology. We need to accept that we are living in a different era. It’s a benefit for us today, but we need to accept it when it’s against us too. It was an amazing feeling, just like it was in the Champions League.” He goes on to say that he’d quite like to go to a Manchester restaurant with Pep, so they can have a long talk about VAR.
It’s worth pointing out that the handball law has been revised. So if “the ball goes into the goal after touching an attacking player’s hand/arm”, it’s a free kick “even if accidental”. Manchester City fans may feel VAR has done a number on them tonight - nobody spotted the infringement in real time, and no Spurs player appealed - but it’s technically the correct decision. This is VAR. This is what everyone wanted.
Tottenham captain Hugo Lloris speaks to Sky Sports. “To be honest, I thought it was a goal. It’s a bit unlucky for City. Anyone can have a different interpretation. But then I looked at the screen and realised it was a hand ball. But we are very happy with the point. It shows our personality and character. We need to enjoy the moment.”
Lucas Moura adds: “It was crazy. I thought it was finished. But this type of action is hard to see. Only the VAR can see. So thank you for it! But we played very well, and it was a good result for us, because we know how difficult it is to play here.”
So here are the stats. City had 30 attempts on goal to Tottenham’s three. I think I’m right in saying one of Tottenham’s efforts was a speculative dig from the halfway line by Harry Kane. Ten of those City efforts were on target; Spurs scored with both of theirs. The expected goals, for those of you who like that sort of thing, has the result as City 3, Spurs 0.22. City took 52 touches in the Tottenham area; Spurs just five in City’s. City had 13 corners; Spurs just two. And the home side enjoyed 56% of possession, which probably is the least lop-sided stat of all. But it ended 2-2.
City dominated pretty much from start to finish. Exact stats when we have them, but they created roughly ten times the number of chances made by Spurs. But the visitors were resilient beyond belief. They needed a little luck - VAR was on their side today, not just at the end, but also with the non-award of a penalty in the first half - but they also took it with a superb display of defensive grit. That’s their first away draw in 16 months. If it has to be a stalemate, best make it memorable, eh?
Gabriel Jesus, his match-winning goal snatched away from him, engages in a full and frank discussion with referee Michael Oliver. He’s ushered away by Harry Kane before he says something he really regrets. Then his manager comes on to shake the referee’s hand. He doesn’t say much, but his gaze lingers a little longer than it might in less dramatic circumstances. Guardiola races off down the tunnel, his side having somehow dropped a couple of points this evening. That was quite surreal, all told.
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FULL TIME: Manchester City 2-2 Tottenham Hotspur
Sterling has a shot that’s blocked. Then there’s a melee in the Spurs box. And finally the whistle blows. That’s that! How on earth has that ended 2-2?! It’s ended 2-2, though.
90 min +5: The dugouts again. Pep is now hugging his opposite number Mauricio Pochettino. More bedlam, but now it’s mixed with the stunned disbelief of the City support.
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VAR: NO GOAL! Manchester City 2-2 Tottenham Hotspur
The ball came off Laporte’s arm in the build-up! The goal’s quite correctly chalked off! City have been denied by VAR against Spurs yet again!
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90 min +3: On the touchline, Pep turns and stares at Aguero on the bench. His decision vindicated. But ...
GOAL! Manchester City 3-2 Tottenham Hotspur (Jesus 90+2)
David Silva works his way down the right and earns a corner. De Bruyne hooks it in. Laporte flicks the ball on for Jesus, level with the left-hand post. He takes a touch back inside, and curls the winner into the bottom right! Bedlam!
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90 min +1: In the first of four additional minutes, Oliver Skipp comes on for Christian Eriksen.
90 min: Zinchenko looks to have recovered. He’s patrolling the left flank in the busy fashion. He crosses deep, but Laporte gets overly excited in the box and concedes a foul that takes the pressure off the visitors.
89 min: Manchester City have made 29 attempts on goal. Spurs just three. “There is no logical explanation for this match,” says Mary Waltz. “Awesome, isn’t it?”
88 min: Eriksen has the chance to release Kane down the right, but dawdles and is stripped of possession. Not entirely sure how we’ve got here, but this really could go either way now.
86 min: For a second, it doesn’t look as though Zinchenko will be able to continue. He’s on the touchline feeling his hamstring. But he insists on coming back on. City would be otherwise down to ten men. Presumably it’s just a bad case of cramp, as opposed to a muscle tweak, or this is a bit risky. Anyway, in the meantime, Lamela is replaced for Lo Celso, who comes on to make his Spurs debut at the home of the champions.
84 min: Zinchenko is down, feeling his hamstring. He’s shaking his head at the bench. Or is it cramp? The doctors give his leg a good old stretch.
82 min: City keep on pressing. But suddenly Moura breaks up the other end. He’s got Lamela to one side, and Kane on the other. He feeds Lamela, who immediately extracts all momentum from the move. A great chance to complete a sensational turnaround is spurned.
80 min: Now Bernardo Silva is swapped for Riyad Mahrez. Some bench City have, huh?
79 min: This surely can’t end 2-2. There have been so many chances. With further goals in mind, Pep replaces Rodri with David Silva. Then De Bruyne crosses from the right. Jesus sends a header inches left of goal. So close.
77 min: Nope. In fact it’s City who nearly score a third, breaking four on two from the Spurs corner. But De Bruyne’s attempt to release Jesus goes wrong when he clanks his pass against his team-mate’s ankle.
76 min: Moura tears past a snoozing Zinchenko, reaching the byline out on the right. He whips back for Kane, but Otamendi slides in to divert the ball out for a corner. Are we about to witness one of the all-time smash and grabs?
75 min: Zinchenko floats a ball into the Spurs box from the right. Under no pressure whatsoever, Rose heads behind for a corner. Shades of the Champions League final, just before Divock Origi scored Liverpool’s clincher. But nothing so dramatic comes of this one. City are beginning to look a little frustrated.
74 min: De Bruyne barrels down the right and whips a low ball into the area. Sanchez does well to cut it out at the near post, with a lot of sky-blue-shirted trouble waiting behind him.
72 min: Bernardo Silva crosses into the Spurs mixer from the right. Jesus, on the left-hand corner of the six-yard box, brings the ball down with his chest, but can’t swivel to get his shot on target. Goal kick.
70 min: The corner’s worked from right to left for Sterling, who hooks high into the box. Lloris rises to claim, and is barged in the rugby line-out style by Otamendi. Pressure off, needlessly, once again. The home crowd are getting a little worried, and take it out on the stricken Lloris. Booooo.
69 min: Jesus dribbles towards the Spurs box. He one-twos with De Bruyne and enters the crowded area. He drops his shoulder once, twice, three times, in the hope of making space to shoot. Eventually he takes a dig, but Sanchez blocks out for a corner.
68 min: Another corner for City. De Bruyne uncharacteristically relieves the pressure on Spurs by hoicking a high and wild cross over everyone’s head from the left.
66 min: Sergio Aguero is hooked. Gabriel Jesus replaces him. And then on the touchline Aguero instigates a hard and fast discussion with his manager. For a second, it looks like Pep is about to cuff his player around the lug, but he’s ushered away from the situation. It all calms down quickly enough, anyway. All good pantomime fun, which will no doubt be blown out of all proportion later.
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64 min: A rare period of play in the centre of the park. “This match is insane,” writes Mary Waltz, who is not wrong.
62 min: Yes, this is quite deliciously daft. De Bruyne crosses from the left. Bernardo Silva nearly turns the ball into the net from close range. It’s deflected out for a corner. From the set piece, Aguero and Otamendi take turns to send the ball flying goalwards. Spurs somehow manage to clear. How is the scoreline of this match 2-2?
61 min: This is getting daft. Lloris comes out to meet the corner, but flaps. Bernardo Silva flicks over the stranded keeper and towards the empty net. The ball clanks off the crossbar and into the arms of the blushing keeper.
60 min: The Spurs fans are giving it plenty. The home crowd can’t quite believe what they’ve just seen. It’s all very strange, because the match had been a rout in all but scoreline. But now everything changes. Rodri tries to restore order by creaming a rising shot from 25 yards straight at Lloris, who tips over for a corner.
58 min: Moura had been on the field for 19 seconds! Most of that was running on, then waiting for the corner to be taken. So a couple of seconds of action tops. That’s some introduction.
GOAL! Manchester City 2-2 Tottenham Hotspur (Moura 56)
The corner’s swung in from the right. Moura rises highest, and guides a header into the top left, past a sprawling Ederson. What a first touch! What a substitution! What a preposterous scoreline, given the overall balance of the game.
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55 min: This is better from Spurs. A period of possession in the middle of the park. Lamela then wedges down the middle. Eriksen chests down on the edge of the area. He can’t get a shot away, but is able to force a corner on the right. Before it’s taken, Lucas Moura comes on for Winks, and ...
54 min: Now a pass is slipped down the inside-right channel by Sterling, releasing Bernardo Silva into the box. Silva opens up his body and tries to pass the ball into the bottom left. Lloris gathers. That’s City’s 18th attempt at goal. Spurs have so far made one.
53 min: Zinchenko to Sterling to Aguero. The ball simply shuttled down the inside-left channel. Aguero strides into the box and lashes a shot over the bar.
51 min: City are looking to wrap the three points up in short order. De Bruyne cuts in from the right and fizzes a diagonal shot wide of the left-hand post. Not entirely sure Lloris would have got to that, had it been on target.
50 min: Another City corner. This time De Bruyne whips in from the left with extreme violence. Lloris punches clear with confidence. Laporte goes down in the meantime, claiming he was tugged to the floor by Sissoko, but come off it.
49 min: ... and City nearly score from it. The ball’s pulled back to Zinchenko, whose low shot through a thicket of players is deflected and heads towards the bottom left. Lloris, initially wrong-footed, saves with a strong hand.
48 min: Rose bursts down the left and hoicks a cross into the City box. It’s not aimed at anyone in particular and easily claimed by Ederson. City go straight up the other end, De Bruyne taking a shot from distance. The ball’s deflected out for a corner.
46 min: City are almost immediately on the attack, Walker sprinting down the right and whipping low towards the near post. Lloris does extremely well to gather a hard ball without spilling, Aguero lurking nearby.
Here we go again! Spurs get the second half underway. No changes yet, though Lucas Moura and new boy Giovani Lo Celso have done plenty of warming up during the break. “We Liverpool faithful won’t believe it’s not the year until it’s statistically impossible,” sighs Roger Wallace, “and even then may hold out for City to be disqualified by some act of God. But I must admit some nerves when City look twice as dominant against Spurs as we do against Southampton.”
Half-time entertainment. Our old pal Nick Ames has been to Berlin. Like Bowie, Eno and Fripp before him, he’s been very creative. Enjoy.
HALF TIME: Manchester City 2-1 Tottenham Hotspur
Bernardo Silva performs some ball-glued-to-boot tricks out on the right. Rose eventually clatters him for his cheek. Then Lloris nearly gifts the ball to De Bruyne, but gets away with a weak pass. And then the whistle goes. It couldn’t come quickly enough for Spurs, who suddenly looked very ragged ... and not a little irritated at chasing shadows. A big half-time coming up for Mauricio Pochettino. Pep by contrast can get a cigar on.
45 min: Spurs can’t get out of their final third. They’re desperate to hear the half-time whistle. They’ll need to get through an extra two minutes.
43 min: And once again, City nearly punish Spurs after hypnotising them with their metronomic football. The ball’s suddenly slipped down the right for De Bruyne, who from the byline pulls back a pinpoint pass for Gundogan, rushing into the Spurs box. Gundogan meets it first time, and is inches away from passing the ball at speed into the bottom right. That would have been picture pretty.
42 min: City continue to stroke it around the middle of the park. Spurs are being made to do a lot of running here.
40 min: Lamela slips a long pass down the left, nearly releasing Kane. Ederson comes to the edge of his box to claim. Inches in it, but he gets to the ball ahead of the striker, and still inside his area to boot. Kane doesn’t look happy, claiming for something that presumably makes sense in his imagination. He’s just frustrated. It’s not about Ederson, is it.
38 min: Bernardo Silva dances down the right and wedges a cross into a packed box. Easy pickings for Lloris. But the visitors are being run ragged again, after that brief mellow interlude. Such a strange rhythm to this match.
36 min: De Bruyne sashays down the inside right, past Sanchez, leaving him spinning like a teenager after three cans of warm Special Brew. He’s clear in the box, with options in the middle. But he’s uncharacteristically foolish, slashing a wild shot high and miles right of the target. Spurs were in all sorts of trouble for a second there.
GOAL! Manchester City 2-1 Tottenham Hotspur (Aguero 35)
As quick as a flash, City move up a gear. Bernardo Silva slips a ball down the right to release De Bruyne into space. De Bruyne flashes a low cross to the near post, where Aguero gets a yard on Alderweireld and flicks into the bottom right! Clinical. City lulled Spurs into a false sense of security there. Hypnotic.
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34 min: City try to regain some control. They stroke it around the midfield for a while. Baby steps. Then suddenly ...
32 min: It’s all a bit scrappy at the moment. Such a contrast to the first 20 minutes, when City were so slick. Mauricio Pochettino will be delighted with his team’s response to falling behind.
30 min: Spurs have certainly woken from their early-match slumber. They’ve enjoyed nearly 60% of possession since City scored the opener. Sometimes teams need a shock to get going. “I don’t want VAR to start giving pens for such pathetic contact as that one, or the Tammy Abraham one in the Super Cup the other night,” opines Chris G. “So if they don’t, bravo I say, whilst conscious of the fact that I would never say ‘bravo’ out loud.” You’ll get no argument here. VAR says it best when it says nothing at all.
28 min: Ndombele slides in on De Bruyne and concedes a free kick 35 yards out, in a central position. Danger here. But City don’t make the most of the opportunity, instigating a lame game of head tennis in the Spurs box. Eventually Laporte, of all people, waves a leg at a loose ball and sends it looping towards Lloris.
26 min: Nothing comes of the corner. Winks runs off down the right wing on the break, and is cynically tugged back by Sterling, who is booked for his sauce.
25 min: Sterling skedaddles down the left and plays a ball through the six-yard box. Sissoko is on hand to slice out for a corner, with Bernardo Silva lurking. Sterling has Walker-Peters on toast.
GOAL! Manchester City 1-1 Tottenham Hotspur (Lamela 23)
So, obviously, out of nothing, Spurs equalise! In strange super-slow motion as well. Ndombele wins the ball in the centre circle and lays off to Lamela, who is allowed to stride smoothly towards the City box. Lamela takes an early shot, opening his body and passing it past an extended Ederson and into the bottom left! Simple as that! A fine finish, but where on earth did that goal come from? And why were City so passive?
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22 min: That had been coming. A couple of bursts upfield apart, Spurs have been second best from the get-go. Illustrating their malaise, Harry Kane has only touched the ball on four occasions.
GOAL! Manchester City 1-0 Tottenham Hotspur (Sterling 20)
This is such a sweet goal, yet so simple. Bernardo Silva dribbles slowly down the right, then checks and rolls a pass back up the wing for De Bruyne, who whips a vicious cross towards the back post. Sterling, rushing in, meets it with a glorious header, flush, sending the ball back across Lloris and into the right-hand portion of the net. What a move, what a finish. They’re not bad, this lot, are they?
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18 min: Rose takes another age over a throw. This time his stalling is so egregious that referee Michael Oliver is forced to come over and issue beneficial advice. If there’s any more of this, expect the yellow card to come out.
16 min: Spurs have another drive at City. Aguero is bullied off the ball deep in Tottenham territory. That allows Kane to zip down the middle at great speed. He slips a pass wide right for Sissoko, who chips to the far stick for Lamela. A header’s sent goalwards, but it’s a harmless looping effort. At least City now know they’re in a game.
15 min: Spurs haven’t done much in attack so far. Eriksen tries to address that with a determined dribble down the middle. He nearly successfully plays a wall pass off Lamela; had it come off, he’d have been scampering into the City half with Kane for company. But Lamela can’t quite cushion the ball back to his team-mate. Better from Spurs, though.
13 min: In fact, that tangle looks more like a penalty every time they show it. VAR, huh, kids.
11 min: One corner leads to another. From the second, Lamela dances with Rodri, who goes down. He’s after a penalty kick. He’s not getting one, even though Lamela’s arm was around Rodri’s neck. You’ve certainly seen them given, but the VAR isn’t interested in overturning it. It would have been soft, but it was probably a spot kick. I guess they’ll be falling back on the “clear and obvious” get-out.
10 min: De Bruyne, Gundogan and Sterling wreak havoc down the left. They very nearly open Spurs up with some cute triangles, but the last pass is deflected and a corner will suffice.
8 min: City look lively, but then when do they not? Sterling has a shot that’s blocked and deflected out for a corner. Then after a quickly taken set piece, De Bruyne tries to thread one into the bottom right. Lloris claims. Spurs are doing their best to weather the storm, but they surely can’t go on like this.
6 min: Zinchenko and Sterling combine again down the left. And once again Sterling is flagged offside. It was close, though. The Spurs back line are playing with fire. “It’s good to hear that Sky are still finding new and exciting new ways to entice me to leave the TV off until kick off,” writes David Flynn. You mean the MBM alone isn’t enough?
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5 min: Sterling nearly gets past Walker-Peters, as he twinkles down the left. Not quite. But City are coming at Spurs from all angles. The visitors have barely had a touch in these early exchanges.
4 min: City continue to pass it around relentlessly. Zinchenko nearly releases Sterling down the left, but the City winger mistimes his run and the flag goes up.
2 min: Rose takes a while over a throw, deep in Spurs territory. Clever move. Spurs started in a shaky fashion, they could do with finding their feet. And breathe.
City get the big match underway! It’s not long before Bernardo Silva and De Bruyne are working their way down the right, forcing Alderweireld to hack clear. Then Sterling nearly gets onto a long pass down the left, but he’s ushered away from danger just when it looks as though he’ll latch onto the ball. A couple of statements of intent within the first 55 seconds or so.
The teams are out! A cracking atmosphere for the first game of the new season at the home of the treble-winning champions. They wear their famous sky-blue shirts, while Spurs sport their trademark lilywhite are in second-choice dark blue. Or is that purple? You get the gist. We’ll be off before you know it!
Sky Sports have had a chat with both managers. The main takeaway: Pep Guardiola has changed his line-up because he wants to give all his squad a run-out. “I want everyone involved. I want to see the players. We need everybody. If the players don’t play every game it could be two or three weeks without a game. I need to see them.” By contrast, Mauricio Pochettino has opted for his strongest side without any considerations regarding rotation. “It is so important that we pick the best starting XI. City love to dominate the midfield but we are strong there.”
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This is the second Saturday night match on Sky Sports under the new TV contract. And for some reason they’ve decided to stick with the wholly unnecessary innovation of sending pundit Jamie Redknapp out onto the pitch during the warm-up to take “a closer look” at a couple of the players. Last week it was Tanguy Ndombele, with reference to footage he’d already seen in the studio; this week it’s Rodri, who was busy doing stretches 60 yards away. The long and the short of it, pretty much, is that the speck he sees in the distance is a “big unit”. Yes, well, this segment doesn’t work, does it. Having said that, it’s only a matter of time before poor old Jamie takes a loose one right in the clock, just like his old dad before him. It’s inevitable, and a possible reason why the producers are happy to keep this one going.
The champions make four changes to the team named for the 5-0 win at West Ham last Saturday. Sergio Aguero, Bernardo Silva, Ilkay Gundogan and Nicolas Otamendi come in for John Stones, David Silva, Riyad Mahrez and Gabriel Jesus.
Christian Eriksen returns to the Spurs starting line-up after coming on as substitute to turn around the opening-day fixture against Aston Villa. Lucas Moura makes way, the only change to Mauricio Pochettino’s side.
The teams
Manchester City: Ederson, Walker, Otamendi, Laporte, Zinchenko, Gundogan, Rodri, De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, Aguero, Sterling.
Subs: Bravo, Gabriel Jesus, Silva, Fernandinho, Mahrez, Joao Cancelo, Foden.
Tottenham Hotspur: Lloris, Walker-Peters, Sanchez, Alderweireld, Rose, Sissoko, Winks, Ndombele, Lamela, Eriksen, Kane.
Subs: Vertonghen, Dier, Lo Celso, Gazzaniga, Lucas Moura, Skipp, Davies.
Referee: Michael Oliver (Northumberland).
Preamble
Domestic treble-winners Manchester City versus Champions League runners-up Tottenham Hotspur. It’s fair to say this is a big one. We might only be nine days into the new season, but as both teams have designs on the Premier League title, this qualifies as a proper six-pointer. Sniff if you like, but there it is.
City will be confident of making an early statement in their quest to join Huddersfield Town, Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United as three-peat winners of the English top division. As if sticking five past West Ham at their own gaff wasn’t enough. They’re currently on a 15-game winning streak in the league, and are on a four-match winning run against this evening’s opponents. They’ve beaten Tottenham seven times in their last nine visits. And Spurs have a dismal record against the top clubs of late: just seven points against the other members of the self-styled Big Six last year.
On the flip side, that four-game winning streak of City’s is a league-only affair. It doesn’t include the Champions League quarter-final bedlam between the two sides last April, two matches that fair took the wind out of City’s continental sail, and briefly threatened to derail their Premier League campaign, as Pep’s men huffed and puffed to a one-goal win over the same opponents three days later. So Spurs are unlikely to feel too overawed, despite the overall picture.
But they’ll need to perform a lot better than they did during those Christian-Eriksen-free minutes against Aston Villa last weekend. Can they raise their game and give the champions a fright? Or will City keep on keepin’ on? We’ll find out soon enough. It’s on!
Kick off: 5.30pm BST.
