That was wild. For most of it City were excellent, and Spurs rode their luck. There were successful penalty claims, unsuccessful penalty claims, possible red cards, actual red cards, saves, woodwork-bothering, VAR controversies. Spurs scored one excellent goal, another deflection-assisted one, and then they rode their luck a bit more. It was excellent entertainment from first to last. Thanks for sharing it with me. Bye!
Updated
David Hytner has filed his match report, and here it is:
Manchester City might have played for 78 minutes of this see-saw game with 10 men only for Raheem Sterling to get away with a horribly late tackle on Dele Alli. But when they did have a man sent off – Oleksandr Zinchenko for a second bookable offence in the 61st minute – it was the prompt for Tottenham to throw off the shackles and fire the wildest of turnarounds.
Until then, it was difficult to overstate City’s dominance. Sergio Agüero missed a clutch of excellent chances and Ilkay Gundogan had a penalty saved by Hugo Lloris as Pep Guardiola’s team set up residence in the Spurs half. Yet profligacy has been City’s enemy on numerous occasions this season and they could count the cost once again.
Much more here:
Mourinho has an inevitable gripe about the depth of his squad: “I have to say, if I have on the bench fresh attacking players, I can do things that at this moment I cannot do, so my attacking players have to go until their limit.” He says they are “in trouble” for the FA Cup replay against Southampton on Wednesday, when Bergwijn will not be able to play, and Dele Alli might be knackered.
José Mourinho is delighted. Well, I assume he’s delighted, he looks like he’s just been slapped around the face with a gurnard.
We had good work. We worked very hard during the week. I’m so pleased for the boys. We can look from the perspective of we were a bit lucky in a couple of situations, they hit a post or they missed a good chance, but from the other perspective we were very unlucky that the VAR didn’t decide for a Sterling red card, which was a red card. And from that moment it was a completely different game if we played 75 minutes against 10 men. But my boys, very well organised, great effort, great discipline. We know how we can score goals. We know how we cannot score goals. So we were waiting for our chances. One player less is not a big deal for them, the way they move the ball. But we had our chances to score and we did, and a very important three points for us.
That’s Man City. It’s the champion, a fantastic team, with players technically really good. We don’t have the capacity to play with a front man that holds the ball and allows us to come out of pressure and to keep more possession. We have only one way to get out and that’s not keeping possession of the ball. City love the ball, they know better than anyone what to do with the ball, so when they have the ball for the majority of the time it’s hard. But fantastic performance, great concentration.
I think the boys were phenomenal in their effort. The goalkeeper saved a penalty. I think it was god’s will, because it’s not a penalty. But our goalkeeper is fantastic and he is there to try to give us points.
This is true, obviously. City will have played away at Leicester, Manchester United and Chelsea (among other fixtures, obviously) before Liverpool kick off against Palace, a few hours after the final whistle blows on that Chelsea game.
Re liverpool winning the league: if city drop more points (against Leicester or Utd), it could be even earlier. Against Everton even @Simon_Burnton
— Jan Krcmar (@JanKrcmarPhoto) February 2, 2020
Updated
Steven Bergwijn has a little chat with Sky:
It’s unbelievable. It’s a dream from me that’s come true. I’m so happy to be here and make a goal for the Spurs. As a little kid you want to play in the Premier League, and if you can score on your debut it’s unbelievable.
Final score: Tottenham 2-0 Manchester City
90+6 mins: It’s all over! Here’s a summary of the key statistics:
Spurs shots against Manchester City this season: six
Spurs goals against Manchester City this season: four
Spurs points against Manchester City this season: four
Manchester City shots against Spurs this season: 48
Manchester City goals against Spurs this season: two
Manchester City points against Spurs this season: one
Updated
90+5 mins: City hit the bar! Bernardo Silva bursts down the right and crosses, and Davinson Sanchez heads against his own woodwork!
90+4 mins: Rodri gets a booking, for fouling Lo Celso.
90+2 mins: Son ruins the statistical perfection of Tottenham’s victory by having a shot that doesn’t go in.
90+1 mins: I think that if Liverpool win all their games from here, they would win the league at home to Crystal Palace on 21 March.
90+1 mins: There will be about five minutes of stoppage time.
90 mins: Bernardo Silva’s excellent cross from the left finds Jesus, but he can’t get any pace on his header and Lloris saves again.
89 mins: Another couple of shots for City. First Bernardo Silva’s effort hits Dier on the head, then De Bruyne’s curler from way out on the left is tipped over by Lloris.
85 mins: Son’s goal came courtesy of a hefty deflection off Fernandinho that I didn’t spot at the time. When it’s not your day, it’s not your day.
83 mins: Sterling seems to have tweaked his left hamstring. He goes off, with Bernardo Silva coming on, and Eric Dier replaces Moura for Spurs.
82 mins: Spurs work the ball to the edge of the City area. Like me, though, they clearly think the two-shots-two-goals thing is hilarious, so rather than have another go they pass backwards a bit and then give it away.
80 mins: Cancelo goes down the left and pulls back to De Bruyne, but the ball is just too far in front of the Belgian. City have basically played excellently. They’ve made chances, had shots, and restricted their opponents to scraps. They are, however, two goals and a man down.
78 mins: Sterling tries to lift the ball to De Bruyne, who was free on the left of Tottenham’s penalty area, but Aurier does an unusual diving defensive header to send it looping into the air, and Lloris catches as it comes back down.
77 mins: City win a free-kick, which is lifted into the area by De Bruyne, and Fernandinho’s half-volley deflects wide.
75 mins: City, still zipping the ball around, push forward, but then Jesus fouls Sanchez and that’s the end of that.
72 mins: City bring Gabriel Jesus on, and take Mahrez off.
GOAL! Tottenham 2-0 Man City (Son, 71 mins)
A second shot, and a second goal for Spurs! Ndombele finds him on the edge of the area, and he turns onto his right foot before shooting low and hard inside the near post!
250 - Steven Bergwijn’s opener for Spurs saw him become the 250th player to score on his debut in the @premierleague, and the 13th Dutchman to do so. Clogs. #TOTMCI pic.twitter.com/31FhpRRSYk
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) February 2, 2020
Updated
70 mins: A double substitution for Spurs: Tanguy Ndombele comes on for Alli, and Erik Lamela comes on for Bergwijn. City’s corner is headed away.
68 mins: Bergwijn is on the turf. City attack anyway, with the home fans booing their lack of charity, and win a corner. The goalscoring Dutchman appears to have a spot of cramp.
66 mins: Lo Celso is booked for a foul on Walker.
66 mins: City’s have had 44 shots against Spurs in the league this year; Spurs have had four against City. Spurs are 3-2 up on aggregate.
64 mins: A corner is headed clear to Moura, 25 yards out, who might have shot but instead chips a pass to Bergwijn, who chests down and volleys into the corner from just inside the area!
Updated
GOAL! Tottenham 1-0 Manchester City (Bergwijn, 63 mins)
Incredible! City have had 13 shots without scoring; Spurs have just smashed in their first!
Updated
63 mins: Gabriel Jesus has sat back down. Joao Cancelo is being readied now.
Red card! Zinchenko is sent off!
61 mins: Spurs try to break after a terrible City corner, and Zinchenko shoulder-barges Winks to stop it. It’s his second yellow card, so he’s got to go!
Updated
60 mins: Gabriel Jesus is being readied.
58 mins: A fine City move, but after De Bruyne finds Mahrez overlapping, his pull-back goes behind his teammates.
55 mins: Spurs briefly threaten to get into a position from which they might have an actual shot, but by the time Moura passes Alli is offside.
53 mins: A brief lull while everyone present comes to terms with the madness they have just witnessed.
49 mins: An open goal, and City can’t find it! Sterling is played in; Lloris comes out and runs into Tanganga, the ball breaking to Aguero. His first-time shot is on its way to goal when Alderweireld hooks it clear, but it drops to Sterling. He squares to Gundogan - not a perfect pass, forcing his teammate to stretch - who blazes over! “Pinball, but no wizards,” says Martin Tyler, which is the perfect summary.
47 mins: In their first three halves of league football against Tottenham this season Manchester City have had 41 shots, and Spurs have had three. The aggregate score is 2-2. (Thanks to Phil Grey for reminding me of the stats from August’s game)
Updated
46 mins: Peeeeep! The players are back out and play is back under way. Both lineups are unchanged.
I see Ryan’s point here: the contact looks horrible in slow motion. There was no violence, no lunging, no losing control, but even so it must have been a close call.
Just seen the sterling challenge! How has a red not been given? Dele lucky to not have a serious injury
— Ryan Mason (@RyanMason) February 2, 2020
Was Sterling’s challenge on Ali (yellow) any different to Aubameyang’s (red) on Meyer? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/SZJcO5qkR7
— Secret Footballer (@TSF) February 2, 2020
I’ve seen every replay Sky has to show me, and I still have no idea if Sterling was caught by Lloris in the moments after the penalty. On the original penalty decision, one thing I don’t know is whether everything that happened in the game during the two minutes that VAR was checking replays - passes, possession, whatever - will remain in official statistics, or whether that period of football and everything that occurred during it has been retrospectively deleted.
@Simon_Burnton It's almost as if refereeing decisions are as subjective under VAR as they were before - in the end it's still humans making decisions. Which begs the question, again, what's the point? #TOTMCI
— foolhandy 💛 (@foolhandy) February 2, 2020
“I’m confused and was hoping you can help me out,” writes JR. “What sport am I watching?” Refereeing. The greatest of all sports.
Half time: Tottenham 0-0 Manchester City
45+5 mins: The game is, somehow, goalless at the break.
45+4 mins: Mahrez lifts an excellent pass to Sterling, running into the area. He squares to Aguero, but Aurier throws a leg out to block, and then the Argentinian slams the ball wide of the near post. It is City’s ninth shot of the half; Spurs have had one.
45+2 mins: Zinchenko has the most off-target shot of the night. More cheers from the crowd.
45+1 mins: Into stoppage time, of which there’ll be four minutes or so. Replays of the penalty show that Lloris was off his line when it was taken, but not significantly, and lord knows the referee had other things to be looking at.
45 mins: The free-kick eventually leads to a corner, which is poor from Son and cleared.
43 mins: The atmosphere has turned wild. Son, now playing to the left, is fouled, and Spurs have an attacking free-kick.
42 mins: The referee walks around with his yellow card for a while. I think Alderweireld and Zinchenko were the ones he showed it to.
41 mins: That looked no less penaltyish than the first one, but this time VAR is unimpressed!
Saved! And then another penalty shout!
40 mins: Lloris saves the penalty! The ball rolls loose, and Lloris and Sterling race for it. Sterling gets there first, and goes down! The referee gives a goal kick!
Updated
Penalty to Manchester City!
39 mins: Play continues for two full minutes, before Dean indicates that VAR has awarded the penalty!
Updated
36 mins: Big penalty shout for City! The ball rebounds to Gundogan, who could have shot but instead feeds Sterling, who is closed down, and then via a couple more ricochets it goes to Aguero, but Aurier slides in from the side to dispossess. Aguero goes down, but Dean makes a “got the ball” sign with his hands and play goes on.
35 mins: Bergwijn crosses from the right towards Alli, but Walker gets the top of his head to it.
33 mins: A yellow card for Kyle Walker, who stops Moura from getting away. The decision proves quite popular with the home crowd.
30 mins: City continue to press. For the moment De Bruyne has moved to the right and Mahrez infield, and for a couple of minutes the ball is repeatedly worked to one or other of them in dangerous areas, but the home defence holds firm.
27 mins: City hit the post! Sanchez gives the ball away to Mahrez, who instantly feeds the run of Aguero, who bursts into the area and passes towards the near post, but Lloris flings out his left foot and it scrapes his studs, hits the base of the stanchion and rebounds to safety!
Updated
26 mins: A long ball is played up to Mahrez, who controls and then stops playing. Perhaps he heard a whistle from the crowd, because there was no offside decision, and in the ensuing confusion the ball is cleared into De Bruyne, but Spurs get away with it!
25 mins: De Bruyne’s 25-yard drive flies straight into Lloris’s arms.
22 mins: Another pass to Son on the right. This time Zinchenko slides in to take the ball, but this is where Tottenham are looking most dangerous.
20 mins: Fernandinho has had two significant defensive duels so far, and he’s won both of them. Most recently he keeps up with Son and eventually dispossessed him.
Updated
18 mins: Spurs play the ball through for Son, but Ederson is out of his area like a rocket-fuelled hare, and clears to safety.
16 mins: Good work from both left-backs, with Tanganga bursting down the left before moving the ball infield, and Zinchenko anticipating well to end the attack.
14 mins: Sterling’s foot landed on Alli’s ankle, but there was no violent intent. It looks quite nasty in the replays, but not nasty enough to be worth more than a booking. Mourinho, having seen the challenge in slow motion, is not gruntled.
13 mins: Sterling is booked for a high tackle on Dele Alli, and VAR is going to have a closer look to see if a red card would have been more appropriate.
12 mins: The ball is chipped down Tottenham’s left, but Otamendi manages to win the race with Bergwijn and send it back towards his keeper. But as Ederson waits for it, Moura attacks, and he very nearly takes it past the keeper for an open goal.
10 mins: De Bruyne’s pass through to Sterling goes to Serge Aurier, but then deflects off his shin into Sterling’s path and the Englishman runs away from the defence and into the penalty area before going to ground, with Aurier breathing down his neck. The referee waves play on.
Updated
9 mins: Aguero has his first two shots of the day, and hits defenders with both of them.
8 mins: Another good move from City, which ends with Mahrez controlling Rodri’s pass and touching the ball forward for De Bruyne, who instead of blasting a low cross into ye mixer blasts a high shot well wide of the near post.
5 mins: A long ball from Alderweireld finds Alli breaking beyond the City defence. He controls, but the linesman raises his flag and Alli shoots limply at Ederson, but replays suggest the goal would probably have stood.
Updated
3 mins: City keep the ball for a while, before finally lifting it into the area, where it’s touched back into the patch of Aguero, who tries to take on a couple of defenders and is dispossessed.
2 mins: Bergwijn is on Tottenham’s left, with Son on the right and Moura in the middle.
1 min: Peeeeeeep! Manchester City, clad all in black, get the game started.
Out they come! Hands have been shaken and anthems played, and action is now just moments away.
Tottenham’s players are in the tunnel, and just waiting for their opponents to turn up.
Jose Mourinho has a pre-match chat with Sky:
The thinking? The thinking is to try to be offensive, to try to score goals to win the game, without having a clear striker, a clear target man. So we go with the qualities that we have. Fast players, creative players, with good dynamic, with good mobility, and hopefully we can reach our objective with them. Bergwijn was playing with PSV, he’s fit, he had a week of work to try to understand us better, for us to try to understand him. We don’t have many options. Lamela is on the bench but not 100%. So we go with Bergwijn, with Son, with Dele Alli, with Lucas, with Lo Celso. We go with all of them.
Pep Guardiola has a chat. He says Laporte is “much better” and will hopefully be back next weekend:
We’ll try to win the game, knowing who you are and the opponent. That’s the idea, as always. They are physically sytrong, they have quality in the middle and a lot of pace up front. Experienced back. Always a tough team.”
Here’s photographic evidence of Steven Bergwijn’s existence. He’s pacey, direct and very exciting, and though it’s not always easy to translate Eredivisie form to Premier League form, I’m looking forward to seeing him try. He’s scored five and created 10 in 16 league appearances this season, so scoring or creating very nearly a goal a game.
Not entirely (remotely) relevant to this game, but this is surely the VAR moment of the day/week/year/whatever:
AHAHAH
— Tancredi Palmeri (@tancredipalmeri) February 2, 2020
Player called back from locker room where he already ran as his red card is overturned by Var;
Walks on and goes head-to-hard with opponent;
Gets a second yellow and is sent back to locker room! pic.twitter.com/qoszHk8i1U
So by my calculations Vertonghen, Lamela and Sessegnon all drop out of the side that beat Norwich in Tottenham’s last league game, with Tanganga, Sanchez and Bergwijn coming in. City bring Gundogan and Aguero in and leave Jesus and Laporte out.
The teams!
Team news is in, and this is the shape of it:
Tottenham Hotspur: Lloris, Aurier, Alderweireld, Sanchez, Tanganga, Winks, Lo Celso, Bergwijn, Alli, Son, Lucas Moura. Subs: Vertonghen, Lamela, Dier, Sessegnon, Gazzaniga, Ndombele, Fernandes.
Man City: Ederson, Walker, Fernandinho, Otamendi, Zinchenko, De Bruyne, Rodri, Gundogan, Mahrez, Aguero, Sterling. Subs: Bravo, Gabriel Jesus, Bernardo Silva, Silva, Joao Cancelo, Foden, Garcia.
Referee: Mike Dean.
#THFC: Lloris (C), Aurier, Alderweireld, Sanchez, Tanganga, Winks, Lo Celso, Dele, Bergwijn, Son, Lucas.
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) February 2, 2020
📲 @WilliamHill latest (18+)https://t.co/flJ8SjBWPw#THFC ⚪️ #COYS pic.twitter.com/KWj1bbzb0o
Here's how we line up in the capital this afternoon...⬇
— Manchester City (@ManCity) February 2, 2020
XI | Ederson, Walker, Otamendi, Fernandinho (C), Zinchenko, Rodrigo, Gundogan, De Bruyne, Mahrez, Sterling, Aguero.
SUBS | Bravo, G Jesus, Bernardo, D Silva, Cancelo, Foden, Garcia.
📋 @HaysWorldwide
🔵 #ManCity #TOTMCI pic.twitter.com/eLTNsa9zjI
Hello world!
Ding ding ding! It’s Guardiola v Mourinho, round 23! “I think with him or without him I try to do my best,” Guardiola said this week. “Without him, I think I would have done the same. It would have been another rival.” As for Mourinho: “With him I remember more the three years we fought on the same side, working together at the same club. I remember more that than what people can speak about rivalry. Then of course Barcelona and Real Madrid, Inter and Barcelona in the Champions League, City and United, now Tottenham and City. A new chapter for us because it’s the first time, Tottenham against Manchester City with us. Never Jose and Josep, like he is in Catalan. For me, it’s a game I want to win because I want my team to win and we need points. No more than that.”
He has a point, though: Spurs really do need points. They are currently eighth, and a win today would rocket them up to fifth, but they are only three points away from 13th, and they have only won once all season against a team currently in the top half (at seventh-placed Wolves in December). They will be able to call on the exciting Dutch forward Steven Bergwijn, signed this week, in their quest to secure another one. As for City, they don’t really need points, being as they are an extremely comfortable 15 points from dropping out of the Champions League places and an extremely distant 23 points from the top of the table. Still, points are nice. They’d probably enjoy a few more points.
Ever the incorrigible optimist, I’m expecting a cracker. Welcome!
