Some reaction:
That’s it from me. Thanks for reading along and all your emails and tweets. Manchester City have put a dreadful 10 days behind them in style, and if it’s not sealed before, can finally capture the title that’s looked theirs for months against Swansea next Sunday. And by beating Spurs at Wembley, they’ve reminded everyone how comprehensively they deserve it. I’ll leave you with our match report. Goodnight!
Here’s Pep! “After what happened this week, to come here and play Tottenham, one of the best teams in the league – after 15 minutes, I said ‘we will be champions’. We had a chance to win it against United, we couldn’t do it, but now we can do it against Swansea.”
“We were 2-0 up, then they scored with their first chance – it happened again – but we were so good. Their full backs were wide and high, their midfielders were switching and we couldn’t control the game. When we switched to five, it was much better.”
On Sterling: “When he improves in front of goal, he will be one of the best players in the world. He’s so young, but he has the ability and the will.”
On the United game tomorrow: “I won’t watch it. I’ll be on the golf course with my son. I think United will win... it doesn’t matter, we depend on us, and we have the chance to win it at home.”
Jacob Steinberg's match report
Here’s the state of play across the leagues:
Premier League
Manchester City have won their fifth English league title after Manchester United lost at home to West Brom. Liverpool (70) and Tottenham (67) look set to join United in the top four with Chelsea seven points behind in fifth. Arsenal are just two points above Burnley in sixth, but could still reach the Champions League if they win the Europa League. Burnley look bound for Europe, unless Southampton win the FA Cup.
West Brom (24pts) are still nine points from safety despite their shock win at Old Trafford while Stoke (27pts) and Southampton (28) are losing touch with Swansea (33), Crystal Palace (34), West Ham (34), Huddersfield (35) and Brighton (35) in the fight to avoid relegation.
Championship
Wolves (pictured) have been promoted to the Premier League after Brentford's late equaliser against Fulham (82pts), who are now third behind Cardiff (83) in the race for automatic promotion, with Aston Villa (79) in fourth. There is a fierce battle for the other two play-off places with just four points between Middlesbrough, Millwall, Derby, Preston, Sheffield United, Bristol City and Brentford.
Burton beat Derby to avoid relegation and climb above Sunderland, who are six points from safety with three games to play. Barnsley (38pts) are still battling and have a game in hand on Bolton (40) and Reading (43),with Birmingham (40) still in trouble.
League One
Wigan and Blackburn have the edge in a three-horse race for automatic promotion; both sides have a five-point cushion on Shrewsbury (82pts), and leaders Wigan have a game in hand. Rotherham appear set for the top six with Scunthorpe, Plymouth, Portsmouth, Charlton and Peterborough battling for the other two play-off spots.
Bury (pictured) have been relegated to League Two after defeat to Northampton, who boosted their own survival hopes. MK Dons and Rochdale join the Cobblers in the bottom four, but Oldham, Walsall, Wimbledon and Oxford are all in danger.
League Two
Accrington missed the chance to seal promotion against Exeter on Saturday, but Stanley and Luton (83pts) look certain to climb into League One. Wycombe (77pts) are in third, with Notts County (73) and Exeter (73) playing catch-up. Coventry (68) and Mansfield (67) occupy the other play-off places but Lincoln (67) have games in hand.
Chesterfield and Barnet are in the bottom two but have hopes of catching the four teams above them – Forest Green, Grimsby, Morecambe and Port Vale. Macclesfield are 10 points clear in the National League, with one other team set to come up via the play-offs.
And while you’re here, why not sign up for The Fiver, our tea-timely football email? Go on.
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Here’s some red-hot reaction:
Raheem Sterling: “From the beginning we were strong, they put us under pressure but we handled it well. I’m disappointed I didn’t score more today. I snatched at a few against United. [On De Bruyne’s no-look pass] It was a disgrace, to be honest.”
Kevin De Bruyne: “We were good against United and Liverpool at home, and I think we deserved to win that game. We defended better here, and we got the result. Everyone feels a little bit tired, and [Spurs] didn’t have a game for a week, but the mental toughness of this team is unbelievable.”
“I haven’t watched that many Tottenham home games this season. Is it normal how many fans leave early?” asks Kari Tilinius.
They certainly did stream out in the last 10 minutes. On one hand, you should stay and support your team to the final whistle. On the other, every second counts in the dash to Wembley Park tube.
After 40 minutes, you wondered how Manchester City were only ahead by two. After 60 minutes, you wondered how they were still ahead at all. Then Raheem Sterling scored a crucial third, seconds after an extraordinary miss, and Spurs’ fight evaporated. Stick around for reaction and our match report.
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Full time: Tottenham Hotspur 1-3 Manchester City
That’s it! City do the double over Spurs, rebounding from their 10 days of hell – and they need one more win for the title. If United lose tomorrow – or at Bournemouth next week – they can win it without kicking another ball.
93 mins: Harry Kane has been largely anonymous, and looks mightily ticked off as another cross sails beyond him.
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92 mins: Woof! From a Spurs corner, Lucas Moura unleashes a shot from 25 yards that Ederson paws away!
91 mins: City fans break out the Yaya/Kolo song. And you thought the Kane jokes were stale...
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90 mins: Four more minutes.
90 mins: Laporte denies Sissoko down the right with a well-timed tackle. He’s been impressive, even if City’s defence looked shaky at times.
89 mins: Yaya Touré is coming on for the victory lap, replacing De Bruyne. City fans are finally starting to enjoy themselves in the away end.
88 mins: Lucas, a lively presence since he came on, is penalised for a high boot on Laporte.
86 mins: Spurs are still plugging away but their final-third efforts haven’t been good enough. Eriksen forces a save from Ederson, which is the first he’s had to make in this half.
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84 mins: Son’s optimistic shot from an angle is blocked. It’s hard to pick a man of the match in this strange, uneven game – it might have to be Kevin de Bruyne again.
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83 mins: Moussa Sissoko comes on for Alli, who never really got into the game.
82 mins: Kompany carelessly gives the ball away to Lucas who finds Alli – but his shot is deflected behind. The corner is straight down Ederson’s throat.
81 mins: City are now knocking it around at walking pace, with Tottenham struggling to find fresh impetus.
79 mins: Kompany, at his tenacious best today, thuds another testing cross away.
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78 mins: Guardiola’s tactical changes haven’t exactly panned out in the last 10 days, but switching to 5-3-2 with Spurs building up steam has worked a treat.
77 mins: Delph is booked for a clumsy foul on Lucas Moura.
75 mins: What a pass from De Bruyne, flicking Otamendi’s hoof clear into Sterling’s path without even looking! Sterling races onto it but fires wide under pressure. Jesus is replaced by Bernardo Silva.
For City, it must have felt like about three days between Eriksen’s goal and Sterling’s. The relief is palpable – and now they’re surely one win from the title. For Spurs, Lucas Moura is on for Dembele.
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GOAL! Tottenham 1-3 Manchester City (Sterling 71')
OH, RAHEEM! The first corner is cleared but from the next, Lloris parries Jesus’ shot weakly and this time, Sterling can’t miss!
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71 mins: OH, RAHEEM. This is ridiculous. Walker’s cross is pushed into his path, and Sterling goes round the keeper. Then takes a touch. And then another. Just to make sure. Then fires his shot wide off a defender’s legs.
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70 mins: De Bruyne thwacks his effort into the wall.
69 mins: Jesus wins the ball from Dembele, who races back to catch De Bruyne, waiting patiently to be brought down. Free kick 30 yards out, and Dembele is booked.
68 mins: City have gone five at the back, with Jesus and Sterling up front. Alli’s mis-hit pass is booted downfield by Laporte.
67 mins: The free kick is drilled across goal by Eriksen, but flies through a forest of legs without anyone getting a touch!
66 mins: Son will surely offer more threat than Lamela, and starts off by getting the better of Kompany, who hauls him down. Free kick, and the City captain is booked.
65 mins: Another promising break for the visitors, with Silva cutting the ball back to Sterling, but his first touch lets him down and his eventual shot is deflected into Lloris’s gloves.
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64 mins: Otamendi is on for Leroy Sané. Pep’s parking the bus! For Spurs, Son Heung-min comes on for Lamela.
63 mins: Big chance for Gabriel Jesus! Set free by Gundogan’s pass, it looks a carbon copy of the first goal as he shrugs off Sanchez – but his finish is dreadful, dragged a mile wide of the far post.
62 mins: City enjoy a full 60 seconds of possession, trying to draw the sting from their opponents. Nicolás Otamendi is coming on.
61 mins: Kane almost gets in behind, but is flagged offside. City living dangerously with their high line.
60 mins: Alli’s diagonal ball finds Lamela, who is flagged offside. City break but Jesus, back on the field, can’t bring down Sané’s through ball.
59 mins: Gabriel Jesus goes down after a clash of heads and needs treatment, limiting City’s chances of getting out of their own half.
58 mins: Davies whips a cross a few inches over Kane’s head, before City faff about in their own area, for no discernible reason.
56 mins: Guardiola is out on the touchline, barking orders at his team. The bench is a little thin for City today: Yaya Touré is the best candidate for someone to calm their midfield down.
54 mins: Alli goes down again under a challenge from Kompany on the edge of the box, but Moss waves him up. City have to get their foot on the ball, it’s been one-way traffic in the second half.
52 mins: Alli dances into the area and is challenged by Kompany. The ball rebounds to Eriksen who tries to lift it back into Alli’s path, but Ederson collects it. Alli goes down in a heap, and Kompany did tread on his foot, but accidentally and a fair way from the ball.
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50 mins: Spurs continue to press and harry, but Eriksen’s hopeful cross floats out of play.
49 mins: Spurs are a very different proposition to the first half-hour, snapping at City heels and stopping them playing out from the back.
...the ball in is an absolute beauty, but Ederson punches clear. Turns out Kane was a fraction offside, anyway.
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47 mins: Spurs start off on the front foot, with Kompany and Gundogan making flying clearances from deep crosses, before Laporte bundles Eriksen over. A chance to whip a cross in from the right...
“Re: Kompany’s tiny shin pads,” begins David Flynn. “Why did players stop wearing those massive ones that covered you up to the knee? They were all the rage in the 90’s. I myself had a Ryan Giggs signature pair that wouldn’t have been out of place on the Gauntlet in Gladiators.”
Peep!
Jon Moss gets the second half under way.
In case you missed it, here are our reports from a lively day in the EPL, where Palace took a big step towards safety against rivals Brighton...
...Southampton chucked away a 2-0 lead against Chelsea...
...and Mo Salah scored another as Liverpool breezed past Bournemouth.
Having seen another replay of the Spurs goal, it seems Laporte’s clearance actually went in off Harry Kane. Sorry. I’m allowed one.
Half time: Tottenham 1-2 Manchester City
City dominated the first half-hour, but Tottenham found their weak spot late in the half, and it’s very much all to play for. Back soon.
47 mins: De Bruyne combines neatly with Jesus, but his cross is cut out by Trippier with only Leroy Sané up in support.
46 mins: Jesus is booked for kicking the ball away. One more added minute to play.
45 mins: City suddenly look shaky again, but Lamela, with time on his hands, fails to pick out Alli or Kane with a low cross.
44 mins: City have conceded goals in bursts – three in 19 minutes at Anfield, three in 16 against United. They need to get to half-time, and Spurs help them out as a corner drifts out of play.
Well, then. Spurs stroke the ball around and Kane prods it into the path of Eriksen. With Ederson rushing out, Laporte gets to it first – but his clearance pings off Eriksen’s shins and into the net!
GOAL! Tottenham 1-2 Manchester City (Eriksen 42')
Spurs are back in it, Christian Eriksen profiting from a fortunate ricochet to cut the deficit!
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41 mins: De Bruyne picks up a deserved booking for an inelegant sideways tackle on Vertonghen. Spurs free kick...
40 mins: Jon Moss is getting another earful from the Wembley faithful, this time for not playing an advantage in midfield.
39 mins: The heat is rising, with Davies penalised for obstructing Sterling. City fans bay for a second yellow, Spurs players mither in Jon Moss’s general direction. Free kick in a decent crossing position, which Sané wallops high and wide.
37 mins: Lamela, working hard behind Kane, tussles with Kompany and goes over theatrically in the box. No contact, although Kompany was risking it by poking a boot out.
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36 mins: Spurs are rallying off the ropes, but Alli’s flick-on only succeeds in diverting Davies’ cross away from Lamela...
34 mins: Trippier tries a slide-rule ball into Lamela’s path, but Ederson glides out to collect.
33 mins: Sané’s cut back to Silva is misjudged, but Dier can only help it along, and the Spaniard’s shot draws a diving save from Lloris!
32 mins: Jan Vertonghen is holding his side, hinting that a muscle strain may be behind his playing terribly so far.
30 mins: Lamela scoots away from Sané in midfield and fires a low shot wide of the post. Harry Kane isn’t happy with him – insert your own gag here.
28 mins: Sané latches on to a through ball and races past Sanchez, who gets back to clear for a corner. The Spurs defence has not been great.
26 mins: Ben Davies is booked for an awful, petulant challenge on Kompany. He goes in studs up and catches Kompany on the shin – that looked like a red. The City captain is furious, and labels Davies an effing cee, or similar, as they square up.
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Guardiola felt that his team didn’t get the decisions against Liverpool, but they might have got one here. It looks like the foul on Sterling was just outside the box. A yellow card was probably fair – Sanchez was covering, and Gabriel Jesus had a chance to prod the ball in from the rebound.
GOAL! Tottenham 0-2 Manchester City (Gundogan pen 24')
Ilkay Gundogan strokes it into the bottom right corner. City in control!
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Penalty to Manchester City!
This is getting out of hand for Spurs. Sterling bolts clear of a static defence and is hacked down by Lloris, who is booked...
A deserved lead for City and a big moment for Gabriel Jesus, who had a torrid time at Anfield and is very much needed with Sergio Agüero out.
GOAL! Tottenham 0-1 Manchester City (Jesus 21')
Classic Guardiola, this. A long ball, albeit a very clever one, from Kompany evades the Spurs defence, and Gabriel Jesus shrugs off Sanchez and drills the ball home!
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21 mins: 65% possession so far for City, which sounds about right.
19 mins: City come again and Sterling, shifting out to the right, pulls the ball back to Gundogan, whose shot is deflected behind.
18 mins: De Bruyne carves the Spurs midfield open from the right, allowing Silva to break free and find Sané. His low cross is towards Sterling, who’s more interesting in trying to nick a penalty than get on the ball.
17 mins: Spurs beginning to find their feet, Eriksen slotting the ball to Kane who forces a fine tackle from Kompany.
16 mins: Eriksen finds Dier in space, whose long ball is hooked first-time across goal by Trippier. Laporte hacks it clear with Kane closing in.
15 mins: Dier and Dembele are dropping deeper, trying to shore things up in their own half. It’s working for now.
Matt Dony is torn. “A City win would help Liverpool finish third, BUT I could never get tired of seeing Pep lose. Could both teams lose?”
It seems unlikely but hey, this is the Premier League.
12 mins: Eriksen seeks out Kane with a curling through ball from the right, but Kompany steps across and cuts it out.
11 mins: City win a corner which is cleared, and Eriksen threatens to break away – but Ederson belts a full 40 yards from goal to cover!
10 mins: Free kick for City as Ben Davies shoves Walker off the ball. It’s been an indifferent start from Spurs.
9 mins: ...30 seconds later, De Bruyne is given too much space on the right of the area, and fizzes a shot beyond the far post.
8 mins: Sterling finds space through the middle, but lashes his shot over the bar, reprising his role in the derby fiasco...
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7 mins: Alli advances into the City area but stumbles under a challenge from Sterling, and offers a half-hearted penalty appeal. Jon Moss isn’t interested.
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6 mins: David Silva has been busy already, and nobody in white is keeping a close eye on him.
@niallmcveigh well done Richard Keys for finally putting an end to the Kane claiming things gags, by ensuring all the fun is taken out of it
— Fabian Crusoe (@FabianCrusoe1) April 14, 2018
The Kane thing is definitely in the overplayed phase, before the ironic usage kicks in early next week.
5 mins: City are already spraying the ball around the wide open spaces of Wembley. Worth remembering, of course, that they were excellent in the first half against United and Liverpool in the last week.
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3 mins: Ooooof! That was a little better from Sané, who sizes up a floated Sterling cross and crunches a volley off the near post! Lloris was on his heels.
2 mins: Sané has a rough 30 seconds, a poor first touch followed by an aimless through ball.
1 min: City are in their maroon/crimson/burgundy away kit. Kyle Walker gets on the ball and is booed lustily.
Peep!
“A lovely day for sport” says Martin Tyler, referencing the County Championship and sounding like he’s just emerged from a snooze beneath a sun hat.
“Any footage of Neil Warnock celebrating Wolves’ ascension?” asks Charles Antaki. That Brentford goal puts Cardiff in the box seat for second, but sent his mate Nuno up. Neil must be having all the feelings.
More on the news that Wolves are back in the big time:
Time for some prime-time entertainment. Anyone out there? Get involved! You can watch Who Dares Wins on the iPlayer.
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Here comes Poch! “City will be really focused and try to win, but we will too. I hope that the game is good, and that we show better quality than them in front of goal, to get the win,” he adds, smirking at his own stating-the-obvious ways.
Wolves promoted to Premier League
Absolute scenes in the Championship, where Neal Maupay’s last-second equaliser for Brentford at Fulham means Wolves are promoted to the Premier League! Here’s how they, er, celebrated on Twitter.
👀
— Wolves (@Wolves) April 14, 2018
Premier League
Manchester City have won their fifth English league title after Manchester United lost at home to West Brom. Liverpool (70) and Tottenham (67) look set to join United in the top four with Chelsea seven points behind in fifth. Arsenal are just two points above Burnley in sixth, but could still reach the Champions League if they win the Europa League. Burnley look bound for Europe, unless Southampton win the FA Cup.
West Brom (24pts) are still nine points from safety despite their shock win at Old Trafford while Stoke (27pts) and Southampton (28) are losing touch with Swansea (33), Crystal Palace (34), West Ham (34), Huddersfield (35) and Brighton (35) in the fight to avoid relegation.
Championship
Wolves (pictured) have been promoted to the Premier League after Brentford's late equaliser against Fulham (82pts), who are now third behind Cardiff (83) in the race for automatic promotion, with Aston Villa (79) in fourth. There is a fierce battle for the other two play-off places with just four points between Middlesbrough, Millwall, Derby, Preston, Sheffield United, Bristol City and Brentford.
Burton beat Derby to avoid relegation and climb above Sunderland, who are six points from safety with three games to play. Barnsley (38pts) are still battling and have a game in hand on Bolton (40) and Reading (43),with Birmingham (40) still in trouble.
League One
Wigan and Blackburn have the edge in a three-horse race for automatic promotion; both sides have a five-point cushion on Shrewsbury (82pts), and leaders Wigan have a game in hand. Rotherham appear set for the top six with Scunthorpe, Plymouth, Portsmouth, Charlton and Peterborough battling for the other two play-off spots.
Bury (pictured) have been relegated to League Two after defeat to Northampton, who boosted their own survival hopes. MK Dons and Rochdale join the Cobblers in the bottom four, but Oldham, Walsall, Wimbledon and Oxford are all in danger.
League Two
Accrington missed the chance to seal promotion against Exeter on Saturday, but Stanley and Luton (83pts) look certain to climb into League One. Wycombe (77pts) are in third, with Notts County (73) and Exeter (73) playing catch-up. Coventry (68) and Mansfield (67) occupy the other play-off places but Lincoln (67) have games in hand.
Chesterfield and Barnet are in the bottom two but have hopes of catching the four teams above them – Forest Green, Grimsby, Morecambe and Port Vale. Macclesfield are 10 points clear in the National League, with one other team set to come up via the play-offs.
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Full time at Anfield, where Liverpool have brushed Bournemouth aside. It finished 3-0 with the Fun Boy Three – Salah, Mané and Firmino – all on target.
You can’t have Spurs v City at Wembley without a bit of this. Never mind Ricky Villa – this match also had a cracking strike from Steve Mackenzie, and an equaliser from one Garth Crooks:
Here comes Pep! “It was a tough week with the results, but we always have to be ready for the next game. We have time to recover after this, but we’re playing a fantastic team here.
We believe that we deserve to win the title, across 38 games. We lost one game in the league, but before that we won six in a row. The teams we play later are trying to stay up, but it all depends on us. We’ll try to get one of the wins we need tonight.”
How they stand
Win at Wembley, and City could seal the title tomorrow, should United unexpectedly slip up against West Brom. A fourth defeat on the spin for City would give their neighbours the chance to cut the gap to seven points, if they can beat West Brom and Bournemouth before Pep’s mob play next. That’s also the gap between Spurs and Chelsea in the top-four race after their win at Southampton earlier.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Man City | 32 | 66 | 84 |
| 2 | Man Utd | 32 | 38 | 71 |
| 3 | Liverpool | 34 | 42 | 70 |
| 4 | Tottenham Hotspur | 32 | 37 | 67 |
| 5 | Chelsea | 33 | 24 | 60 |
I’ll caveat this attempt to drum up some drama with both teams’ remaining fixtures, which are pretty forgiving. City play Swansea (H), West Ham (A), Huddersfield (H), Brighton (H) and Southampton (A). Tottenham take on Brighton (A), Watford (H), West Brom (A), Newcastle (H) and Leicester (H).
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Bad news for Kane – golden boot nemesis Mo Salah has just scored again, this time against Bournemouth. Liverpool lead 2-0 at Anfield:
Harry Kane starts up front, having set the bantersphere alight this week after basically forcing the Premier League to award him Spurs’ second goal against Stoke. Here’s a particular tortuous take:
It’ll be interesting to see how Kane reacts should Spurs score tonight. If it’s not him he’s got to claim it surely? 🤣
— Richard Keys (@richardajkeys) April 14, 2018
Spurs make four changes from the team that beat Stoke, with Kieran Trippier, Ben Davies, Eric Dier and Érik Lamela coming in. Serge Aurier, Victor Wanyama and Son Heung-min drop to the bench, while Danny Rose is out injured.
Three changes for City from the midweek loss to Liverpool. Vincent Kompany replaces Nicolás Otamendi, Fabian Delph slots in at left-back and İlkay Gündoğan starts in midfield with Fernandinho suspended. Bernardo Silva drops to the bench.
Also, Sterling starts for City and Sterling is on the bench for Spurs – youth prospect Kazaiah Sterling, that is.
Team news
Tottenham: Lloris; Trippier, Sánchez, Vertonghen, Davies; Dier, Dembele, Eriksen, Alli, Lamela; Kane.
Subs: Son, Wanyama, Vorm, Sissoko, Aurier, Lucas Moura, Sterling.
Manchester City: Ederson; Walker, Kompany, Laporte, Delph; De Bruyne, Gündoğan, Silva; Sterling, Jesus, Sané.
Subs: Bravo, Bernardo Silva, Otamendi, Zinchenko, Touré, Foden, Díaz.
Referee: Jon Moss
Preamble
Since bursting into the top-four running together some eight years ago, expanding the Sky Four into the Sky/BT Sport Six, these two teams have developed a healthy rivalry.
Spurs have enjoyed some memorable successes – Peter Crouch taking them into the Champions League at City’s expense, taking the air out of their opponents’ title ambitions in the autumns of 2015 and 2016, and a 2-1 win at the Etihad in-between that set them up for a doomed tilt at the title of their own.
Among those highs for today’s hosts, there have been plenty for the visitors, too – Champions League revenge care of Crouchy in 2011, vintage Balotelli in a 3-2 win in early 2012, and Dzeko’s four goals at the Lane between the two. There was another 5-1, a 6-0 that saw AVB’s high line and reputation shredded, and a pair of 4-1s, most recently just before Christmas as Pep-ball peaked.
All of which points to one of two likely outcomes today – City wandering in still reeling from three straight losses and getting another painful slap-down from Spurs, or the visitors clearing their collective heads with a restorative hatful of goals. With both teams squinting over their shoulders, a draw might suit both parties – but that’s not how these games tend to go.
Kick-off is at 7.45pm and whatever happens, it’s bound to be worth watching.
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