Full time at White Hart Lane: Tottenham Hotspur 4-1 Man City
Peep! Peep! Peeeeeeeeeeeep! It’s all over at the Lane and Spurs have put in a splendid second half shift to score three goals and beat the league leaders 4-1. That’s Manchester City’s second defeat on the spin and goals from Eric Dier, Toby Alderweireld, Harry Kane and Erik Lamela have won all three points for Spurs, who actually had to come from behind after Kevin De Bruyne opened the scoring in the 25th minute. Here’s Danny Taylor’s match report.
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90+2 min: With Spurs fans making fun of their opposition by “ole”-ing their side’s every pass, we’re reminded by BT’s commentary team that “if” Manchester United can beat Sunderland this afternoon, they’ll go top of the Premier League. If.
90 min: The fourth official has recommended four minutes of added time.
89 min: Raheem Sterling wins a corner for Manchester City, his cross put out by Ben Davies. Samir Nasri’s outswinger is helped along towards De Bruyne by Fernando, only for Spurs to go on the counter again courtesy of the lively Clinton N’Jie.
88 min: Hugo Lloris saves from a decently struck Kevin de Bruyne free-kick.
87 min: Dele Alli gets booked for a foul on Patrick Roberts, the substitute and City’s summer acquisition from Fulham.
86 min: Manchester City substitution: Sergio Aguero off, Patrick Roberts on. Spurs substitution: Erik Lamela after a fine performance, Tom Carroll on.
84 min: The ball’s played down the right touchline, where Harry Kane has taken up position. He pings the ball inside towards Clinton N’Jie, who is shepherded towards the corner flag by Bacary Sagna. The ball eventually goes out for a goal-kick, with N’Jie claiming he was fouled by Sagna. Referee Mark Clattenburg is having none of it.
81 min: Considering the nature of the match, this seems a quite extraordinary scoreline. Manchester City were the better team in the first half, but went in with the scores level. They now find themselves 4-1 down as we approach the end of a match in which Spurs have certainly impressed, but hardly mullered them.
GOAL! Tottenham Hotspur 4-1 Man City (Lamela 78)
77 min: Brilliant play from Clinton N’jie, who took two touches to control a dropping goal and roll Aleksandar Kolarov on the right touchline as Spurs attacked on the counter. The Cameroonian then picked out Erik Lamela, who shimmied and shuffled before planting the ball past a hopelessly dazed and confused Martin Dimichelis and Willy Caballero, leaving the pair on their knees on the edge of the six-yard box with his soft-shoe shuffle.
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77 min: Tottenham Hotspur substitution: Heung-min Son off, Clinton N’jie on.
75 min: Willy Caballero saves well from Harry Kane, who shot low and hard from a tight angle.
72 min: Spurs get the ball into the Manchester City net for a fourth time, but are penalised for offside as Son needlessly takes a touch on a ball that was already crossing the line following a near post flick on a cross from the left. I’ll need to see that again to tell you exactly what happened.
71 min: Harry Kane attempts to pick out Erik Lamela with a shin-high cross curled towards the near post from the left side of the penalty area, but the Argentinian can’t connect.
70 min: City substitution: Fernandinho off, Samir Nasri on.
69 min: Jesus Navas wins a corner for City after being a good save out of Lloris with a fizzing effort from a tight angle that looked to be heading for the top corner. After much faffing around the fringes of the Spurs penalty area, Raheem Sterling makes room for a shot, but drags a poor effort wide of the upright. In the BT Sport commentary box, Glenn Hoddle and Michael Owen both lament Sterling’s ongoing inability to strike a football properly.
66 min: Spurs substitution: Christian Eriksen off, Nacer Chadli on.
64 min: Would you believe it? Replays show that Kane was standing in an offside position when Eriksen took his free-kick. We’ve had four goals and three of them should have been disallowed for offside. Christian Eriksen gets booked for a foul on Kevin De Bruyne ... or possibly for kicking the ball away moments after being penalised for a foul on Kevin De Bruyne.
63 min: Following Dimichelis’s foul on Lamela, for which the Argentinian defender was exceptionally lucky not to receive his second yellow card, Christian Eriksen hammered the ball against the crossbar with his free-kick. It bounced back into the path of Harry Kane, who barely had time to adjust his feet before steering the bouncing ball into the top corner of the open goal. That could have gone anywhere - considering the fragility of his confidence, he did well to keep it down.
GOAL! Tottenham 3-1 Man City (Kane 61)
Harry Kane opens his account for the season and it’s a fine finish, as he knocks the rebound into an empty net from about 18 yards after Christian Eriksen had rattled the crossbar with his free-kick.
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60 min: Free-kick for Tottenham after Erik Lamela was hacked down by Martin Demichelis.
59 min: Eric Dier gets booked for a foul on Fernandinho, who had just nutmegged him.
58 min: Fernando advances through the centre for City, before picking out Kolarov on the left touchline. City ping the ball around the fringes of the Spurs box, looking for an opening. Eventually Raheem Sterling creates one by cutting inside from the left, but his low right-footed drive is weak and straight at Lloris.
57 min: Erik Lamela gets booked for a nasty stamp on the exposed ankle of Aleksandar Kolarov’s right leg in full stretch. Ouch.
56 min: Manchester City substitution: Yaya Toure off with what looks like a tweaked hamstring, Jesus Navas on.
Photograph: Tom Dulat/Getty Images
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53 min: Replays show that Caballero was caught out badly there. He came for the ball but didn’t get anywhere near it, ending up stranded on the edge of his own six-yard box, while a couple of yards in front of him, Alderweireld was directing his header inside the right upright.
52 min: Spurs won a free-kick out by the right wing, courtesy of Harry Kane. The ball was floated into the penalty area by Eriksen, where from a standing start, Aderweireld leaped to head the ball past Cabllero, who was caught in no-man’s land as he sheepishly, almost apologetically came for the ball.
Goal! Tottenham 2-1 Manchester City (Alderweireld 50)
Well, well! Spurs take the lead, courtesy of a soft goal from Toby Alderweireld, who heads past Willy Caballero from a free-kick.
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48 min: Sergio Aguero wins a corner for City when his shot from a narrow angle goes out off a defender. Nothing comes of it.
47 min: Hugo Lloris makes the first save of the second half, tidying up after Toure shoots straight his way.
Tottenham kick-off for the second half ...
It’s all square at White Hart Lane, where Bacary Sagna is immediately forced to hack the ball out for a throw-in deep inside his own half after a mini-mix-up with Willy Caballero.
Note position of Kyle Walker (No2) and the linesman
Yep, that's offside #THFC #MCFC pic.twitter.com/CMdXZ2SKyB
— SportsJOE.ie (@SportsJOEdotie) September 26, 2015
Half-time analysis: The offside for City’s goal was marginal, a matter of centimetres, but it’s astonishing that linesman Simon Beck didn’t notice that Kyle Walker was at least a yard offside when he picked up a short pass from Harry Kane before crossing to Son in the build-up to what eventually resulted in a Spurs goal. The action took place on Beck’s side of the field, he was up with the play and had a clear view - it’s puzzling to know how he managed to get what should have been a straightforward decision.
Half-time at white Hart Lane: Tottenham 1-1 Man City
It’s all square at one goal apiece in a half that ends with Martin Demichelis getting booked for dissent as he complains about Tottenham’s equaliser not being penalised for a blatant offside in the build-up. Spurs had gone on the attack and, picking up the ball in an offside position on the right, Kyle Walker played the ball inside, where it found its way to Son, who brought a wonderful save from point-blank range from Caballero. From his save, the ball broke to Dier, who sent it back with interest from about 25 yards, his low drive arrowing into the bottom left-hand corner. It’s 1-1 at the interval, with Spurs having left it late to cancel out Kevin De Bruyne’s opener.
GOAL! Tottenham Hotspur 1-1 Man City (Dier 45)
Spurs attack while countering from a M an City counter-attack! Eric Dier scores with a low drive into the bottom left-hand corner, but that’s only half the story of the game’s second offside goal.
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44 min: Another City counter-attack down the left, with Kolarov teeing up Sterling only for Lloris to save well.
42 min: Sergio Aguero wins a corner for Manchester City, after wriggling his way into the Spurs penalty area unopposed. Aleksandar Kolarov swings the ball towards Nicolas Otamendi at the near post, but it’s cleared.
40 min: With his back to goal, Erik Lamela receives a pass and turns Nicolas Otamendi with ease, before unleashing a shot. His effort is blocked, but drops kindly for Harry Kane, whose latest effort to break his duck is saved by Will Caballero. A corner for Tottenham Hotspur, but nothing comes of it.
38 min: Eric Dier attempts to curl the ball into the Manchester City penalty area towards Harry Kane, but his pass is cut out by Martin Dimichelis.
36 min: Dele Alli catches Fernandinho across one shin with a late challenge, but gets away with a ticking-off from Mark Clattenburg, who would have been well within in his rights to give him a yellow card. Good refereeing - this game hasn’t been in any way dirty and there was no real harm done.
35 min: Erik Lamela slashes high and wide of the Manchester City goal from just outside the penalty area. He swivels and attempts to kick the ground in frustration and misses that too.
34 min: Manchester City attack down the left again, with Raheem Sterling forcing Hugo Lloris into another save after getting in behind Kyle Walker again.
32 min: A wild miskick from Nicolas Otamendi allows Harry Kane to steal in, nick the ball and find himself through on goal. With Eriksen available to his right, he eschews the option to play his Danish team-mate in and tries a shot from distance. It pitches up before going a couple of yards wide of off-stump.
29 min: Replays show that Manchester City opener was indeed fractionally offside. With City galloping forward, Toure played the ball wide and left to De Bruyne with the Belgian having got slightly ahead of himself. So to speak. In the BT studio: former referee Howard Webb says “it was close, it was a tight one, but he was just offside”.
27 min: Manchester City go close again, with Raheem Sterling forcing Lloris to stretch and tip the ball around his own upright with a shot from about 20 metres after good work from Toure down the right. That was a fine save from the French goalkeeper.
Goal: Tottenham Hotspur 0-1 Manchester City (De Bruyne 25)
From Tottenham’s corner, Manchester win possession and gallop down the field in a three-on-two move that ends with Kevfin De Bruyne slotting the ball past Hugo Lloris, who I think got a touch, into the bottom left-hand corner. A touch of offside there as Bruyne picked up the final pass from Yaya Toure, but I’ll need to see it again to confirm whether or not he was offside.
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23 min: Erik Lamela does well to beat Fernando on the touchline, cut inside and play the ball forward to Son, who wins a corner for Spurs. City counter and score!
22 min: On BT Sport, Glenn Hoddle and Michael Owen are on co-comms duty and the former England manager has just said that Christian Eriksen should be doing more work in defence to help out Kyle Walker, who is being left exposed and not knowing whether to stick or twist, as City attack down the left.
20 min: Christian Eriksen curls the ball across the Manchester City penalty area, where Harry Kane is flagged for offside. Poor play from Harry, there - he could see along the line and should not have strayed offside.
19 min: Spurs win a corner, the ball going out of play off Nicolas Otamendi. Erik Lamela’s inswinger is decent, but Nicolas Otamendi clears with a meaty header.
18 min: Sergio Aguero picks up the ball just outside the Spurs penalty aqrea, shifts to his right and shoot. The ball pitches up in front of Hugo Lloris, who flings himself to his left to put it out for a corner. Kevin De Bruyne sends the ball into the penalty area, where Spurs clear.
16 min: Kyle Walker and Toby Alderweireld get their wires crossed deep inside their own half, but get away with it when Sergio Aguero puts the ball out for a corner. Manchester City are employing a high press here, giving Tottenham’s defenders little or no time to settle on the ball.
14 min: City attack down the right, but Ben Davies blocks the attempted cross from the right. Yaya Toure shoots from the edge of the D outside the Spurs penalty area after running on to a squared ball from De Bruyne, but pulls his weak effort just wide of the upright.
13 min: Both teams have lined up in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Kane and Aguero acting as lone front men, supported by banks of three behind them. It’s been absorbing stuff so far, but nothing particularly exciting to report thus far.
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11 min: A sweeping move from Spurs finishes with Erik Lamela dithering over a Ben Davies cross, opting to take a touch rather than volley first time. From a narrow angle, he does at least win his team a corner, from which nothing comes.
10 min: Kevin De Bruyne tries his luck with an ambiutious effort from distance that puts an abrupt end to a promising City attack. From 30 yards or so, he sends the ball well wide.
9 min: George Evans has replaced Vincent Kompany among the Manchester City replacements. No word yet on who, if anyone, has replaced Evans in group of travelling City players who are sitting watching the game in their club blazers.
7 min: No chances of note thus far, as the game settles into something of a rhythm. Sterling and Aguero get in behind Kyle Walker to link up on the left-side of the Spurs area, before Fernandinho is picked out on the edge of it. Toby Alderweireld puts him off his stride and the ball eventually finds its way to Hugo Lloris.
4 min: Good play from Spurs. Son combines with Christian Eriksen, who plays Lamela through on goal for Spurs, but the Argentinian is correctly penalised for offside.
2 min: Heung-min Son gets on the ball just inside the Manchester City half, but is dispossessed by Yaya Toure. The Ivorian advances a few yards before losing the ball to Eric Dier. Meanwhile on the sub’s bench, Vincent Kompany is no longer among the City replacements after feeling a niggle during the warm-up.
1 min: Kevin De Bruyne wins a corner for his side. De Bruyne pings the ball into the Tottenham penalty area, but his delivery cleared by Toby Alderweireld.
Manchester City get the ball rolling at White Hart Lane
It’s a sunny day at White Hart Lane, the conditions perfect for football. Playing with the sun glaring into his eyes, Willy Caballero gets his first touch and lumps the ball long.
Not long now ...
The teams line up in the White Hart Lane tunnel, before being led out by referee Mark Clattenburg. Spurs will wear their usual home kit today, while Manchester City’s players will line up in navy shirts with light blue trim, navy shorts and navy socks. I’m plumping for a City win, but whatever the outcome, here’s hoping for a great start to what could be a fantastic day of sport, culminating in a belting rugby match between England and Wales.
Will Sergio Aguero score today?
With so much talk centring on Harry Kane’s current travails in front of goal, it’s worth remembering that Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero hasn’t exactly been banging them in on a regular basis. The Argentinian has just one Premier League goal to his name this season, but has scored 10 in seven appearances against Tottenham and will almost certainly fancy his chances of adding to that tally today.
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Heung-Min Son speaks ...
BT Sport have just broadcast a pre-recorded interview with Tottenham’s South Korean signing Son, who prattled away in German with Owen Hargreaves. I didn’t get a word of it, but he came across as a very nice young man.
Mauricio Pochettino speaks ...
On the subject of Harry Kane’s goal drought, such as it is, he has this to say: “Always in football you need to have patience and trust and belief in your skill and yourself,” he says. “Harry is good and knows he needs to try and try and try and work hard. We believe in him. We need to help him and work hard to help him. He is a great player and we have confidence in him. Sometimes there’s a lot of pressure on young players and this will be good for him when he looks back on it in the future.” Personally, I suspect the return of Christian Eriksson may well signal a fairly abrupt end to Harry’s troubles in front of goal.
Manuel Pellegrini speaks
On the subject of Joe Hart’s absence, he has this to say: “Joe had an injury problem during the week. That’s why he stayed on the bench against Sunderland [in the Capital One Cup] and if he’s just worked one day before this match ... Friday was the only day he worked a complete session, so Willy will play today.”
No, your eyes don't deceive you ...
Joe Hart is a mysterious and as yet unexplained absentee from Manchester City’s line-up, while Vincent Kompany will also watch from the bench.
Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester City line-ups ...
Tottenham Hotspur: Lloris, Walker, Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Davies, Dier, Alli, Lamela, Eriksen, Son, Kane.
Subs: Rose, Vorm, N’Jie, Trippier, Townsend, Chadli, Carroll.
Man City: Caballero, Sagna, Otamendi, Demichelis, Kolarov, Fernandinho, Fernando, De Bruyne, Toure, Sterling, Aguero.
Subs: Hart, Kompany, Zabaleta, Nasri, Jesus Navas, Roberts, Barker.
Referee: Mark Clattenburg (Tyne & Wear)
Tottenham v Manchester City match preview
League leaders Manchester City travel to what’s left of White Hart Lane, following the attempts at demolition by Arsenal fans a few days ago, looking to get their season back on track after becoming the latest high profile team to be given a bloody nose by Slaven Bilic’s West Ham travelling roadshow. Their hosts have had a fairly unremarkable start to the season, winning two and drawing three of their opening six Premier League games, with last year’s top scorer Harry Kane still looking for his opening goal.
Having rested several players for their Capital One Cup defeat at the hands of Arsenal , Spurs could welcome back Heung-min Son, Hugo Lloris, Kyle Walker, Toby Alderweireld, Dele Alli and Jan Vertonghen, but will have to do without the sidelined quartet of Ryan Mason, Alex Pritchard, Mousa Dembele and Nabil Bentaleb.
For City, Vincent Kompany has recovered from a calf injury and is available for selection after two games out, but David Silva, Eliaquim Mangala, Wilfried Bony and Kelechi Iheanacho have all been excused from duty after presenting sick-notes. Kick-off is at 12.45pm BST, but tune in 30 minutes before that for team news and build-up.
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