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Peep!
That’s a huge victory for Mauricio Pochettino’s side. A result that
proves they have the bottle for a title race. Harry Kane, chest sticking
out in proud peacock-style, shouts “come on!” as he thumps his shirt
and salutes the ecstatic Spurs fans. What a victory for Spurs. What a
damaging defeat for City. Are they also-rans now? One thing’s for sure,
it’s been a good day for north London. Thanks for your emails and
tweets. Bye.
Christian Eriksen celebrates with Harry Kane and Erik Lamela after
scoring the second goal and sealing victory for Spurs. Photograph: Lee
Smith/Reuters
90+4 min: Lloris has just made the most
wonderful interception to, most likely, secure the three points for
Spurs. Agüero dinks a cross to the far post, where Ottamendi leaps and
only has to nod home. But, from nowhere, a Lloris hand appears and takes
the ball off the defender’s head. Brilliant goalkeeping. Silva then
slams the ball over on the stretch. The jig’s up for City.
90+3 min: Kolarov whips another ball into the
box at Ottamendi, who can’t react quick enough to get his head on the
ball and watches it slam into his body instead. Again, Spurs survive.
But City come back …
90+1 min: Carroll has just emptied his lungs to
prevent Kolarov getting a cross into the Spurs box. He concedes a
corner. It’s whipped in dangerously but Spurs clear after some nervy
moments.
89 min: Chris Wood has this thesis on team
spirit: “Both Tottenham goals, scorer swamped by celebrating team-mates.
City goalscorer celebrates without a team-mate within 30 yards. City
really are synthetic construct.” Lamela has just run the length of the
pitch to use up some of the four minutes that have just been added for
injury time. Four huge minutes for both clubs.
87 min: Iheanacho tries to combine with Agüero
in the box but the Argentinian’s touch has been heavy today. He turns
and watches the ball squirm away from him as Iheanacho was overlapping
in a dangerous position in the box on the left of him.
86 min: How important will that goal be? Spurs
will go second, two points behind Leicester, if it stay this way. What a
response to conceding. They kept about their business despite the
pressure they were under, looking for every opportunity to steal the
ball and break. And then they did. Devastatingly.
Well,
well, well. I wasn’t expecting that. Spurs nick possession in midfield
and Lamela, the man whose substitution I just questioned, drives at the
heart of the City defence. He draws Kompany and Ottamendi and plays the
ball cheekily – and delightfully – through the latter’s legs to Eriksen,
who takes one touch and slots past the onrushing Hart as cool as you
like from 12 yards. Lovely finish. And a fine substitution.
Eriksen scores the second goal for Tottenham. Photograph: Lee Smith/Reuters
80 min: Lamela has sprinted on in Alli’s stead.
That’s an adventurous substitution at this stage in the game. I’m not
sure he’s the player you need to help quell the City pressure.
78 min: “Spurs have the slick streetwise Rose on
the left and the cumbersome Walker on the right. It’s like Glenn and
the Walkers from season 1 Walking Dead today,” offers Mr Dresner. I have
no TV reference to add Mr Dresner as I’ve never seen the Walking Dead.
However, Walker had looked shaky in the leadup to that goal. The chip in
the fortified Spurs wall if you like.
76 min: And the man who created the goal is
immediately taken off. Clichy is replaced by Kolarov. The City crowd
sense that their team can turn this around here in the same way that
Arsenal did earlier on. Touré slams a shot straight at Lloris from 20
yards. It’s down the French keeper’s throat but he chooses to punch such
is the power of the shot.
There’s
that bit of magic. Well, I say magic. It was incredibly simple
actually. Silva played a one-two with Clichy as Walker was caught on his
heels and was slow to react. Clichy looked up and picked out Iheanacho
on the penalty spot so very accurately. A swish of the Nigerian’s right
boot evens things up. What a substitution.
Iheanacho scores the equaliser. Photograph: Andrew Yates/Reuters
70 min: Carroll on. Son off. Spurs will become
even more compact in midfield then. City will need to conjure some
serious magic to get back in this. They’ve banged their collective head
against the Spurs wall to no avail thus far.
68 min: Spurs
are becoming more wasteful in possession. Walker has looked shaky on a
couple of occasions, playing dangerous passes inside when looking after
the ball like a special friend is what’s required. Kane is down. Rose
looks like he’s about to kick it out but then jets off down the wing
and, only when City players catch him up, does he kick it out. This
riles the City players – and crowd. As a result City don’t give the ball
back and launch another attack as Kane is getting gingerly back to his
feet. The attack is snuffed out dutifully by the well-drilled Spurs
defence.
Kane taken out by Zabaleta. Photograph: Lee Smith/Reuters
65 min: Agüero has the chance to slide Sterling
into the inside-right channel but he delays, doubts himself and then
dribbles a woeful pass straight at Wimmer after leaving it too late. A
wasted opportunity.
64 min: Alli wins a clever free-kick, showing
wiliness beyond his years to wait for Clichy to throw in a tackle before
tumbling over in the Didi Hamann style. That will help to relieve some
of the pressure for a moment or too.
61 min: Agüero
is starting to get busy. He’s making more runs across the Spurs defence
and showing at every opportunity when Silva, Sterling or Touré pick up
possession. He has a shot blocked by Alderweireld and then another
jinking run is snuffed out a moment later. Danger signs, though. Spurs
beware.
Aguero aviods the challenge from Walker. Photograph: Andrew Yates/Reuters
58 min: That goal for Kane was his 15th in his
last 17 Premier League appearances. He’s hot all right. Meanwhile Adam
Hirst has little sympathy for Sterling: “If Sterling had faced up to
that cross instead of turning his back… with his hands clasped behind
him, then it never would have been a penalty.” But what if it had hit
him in his precious little nose Adam? An unblemished plate is surely
more important than a Premier League title. No?
56 min: Touré
clatters the bar as he curls it round the wall towards the top-right
corner. It’s actually quite central on second look but the dip on the
ball probably had the beating of Lloris. Great effort. Yes, the game’s
come to life all right. So have the crowd. The City fans are making a
fair bit of noise. Probably because they’re incensed with that
Clattenburg decision.
Toure clatters the bar from the free kick. Photograph: Jon Super/AP
54 min: Looking at the replay, that penalty
shouldn’t have been. I’m not even sure that it struck Sterling’s elbow.
It’s livened the match up at long last, though. Wimmer has taken Silva
out and been booked for his trouble. The free-kick is 25 yards out on
the right hand-side in a lovely spot. Touré and Silva stand over it.
52 min: And
it’s harsh! Rose whips a cross into the box and Sterling leaps, back to
goal only for the ball to hit his back/maybe his elbow. Clattenburg
blows. Kane will take the penalty.
You can see from this grab, it hit Sterling’s back. Photograph: Sky Sports
50 min: City’s midfield shield of Fernando and
Fernandinho seem very happy to stand off Spurs’ midfield and let them
have the ball in their half. Only when they get within shooting distance
do they step up the pace and try to snuff out the danger.
47 min: Rose
bundles Zabaleta to the ground and concedes a free-kick in a good
position for City, over by the touchline 30 yards from goal. It’s a weak
delivery by Sterling but City keep it alive and Touré’s blocked shot
loops into the air and falls to Agüero 15 yards from goal. But his
right-footed finish shoots high into the air. It was a difficult ball to
keep down but that was a particularly wayward strike by his standards.
Aguero misses a chance. Photograph: Andrew Yates/Reuters
45 min:
It’s the second half. And there’s a yellow card immediately for
Kompany, who catches Alli late after Spurs were trying to pass their way
through the middle of the park.
A Manchester City supporter takes his seat to watchsecong half. Liking the Man Utd badge... Photograph: Jon Super/AP
So, for all Spurs’ dominance in possession I still felt that City were the most likely to score in that first half.
City’s defence gave Kane no wriggle room and Spurs’ other attacking
players didn’t get far enough forwards to cause Hart any great
discomfort. As for City, I feel if they are to score it will likely come
down the left where Walker was often outnumbered by Sterling and Silva.
Spurs could do with trying to utilise Kane’s aerial presence too. Who
knows? A messy clearance could give them the clear-cut chance they
haven’t been able to create so far.
With little goalmouth action to discuss in that let me draw your attention to poor old Steve Ladgrove instead. He flew 25 hours from Australia to watch his second-ever Aston Villa game today. Oof!
43 min: Sterling and Silva look to be the most
likely lock-pickers for City today. The little England winger plays
Silva into the inside-left channel with a delicately-weighted pass but
City don’t have enough players forwards for him to pick anyone out.
Spurs make a mess of clearing his low pull-back and get lucky when a
clearance rebounds off Agüero and goes out for a goal-kick.
41 min: A
corner for Spurs. Danny Rose wallops a volley at goal but Zabaleta
bravely sticks his mean forehead in the way of it and diverts it over.
He doesn’t even flinch. That must have had the force of a sack of spuds
behind it. Impressive. Or maybe he’s just got a reinforced skull.
Anyway, I digress. The corner comes to nothing because there was a foul
by a Spurs player as it was whipped in.
Rose shoots. Photograph: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images
35 min: Spurs
press Agüero to within an inch of his life and watch happily as the
Argentine blooters a cross-field pass backwards and out of play. City
win it back quickly themselves, though, and Sterling has a dribble down
the left but is halted by a physical challenge by Alderweireld. It’s a
little scrappy suddenly.
Aguero, tackled by Rose. Photograph: JMP/REX/Shutterstock
32 min: This match is almost as even as Manuel
Pellegrini’s mood. Nothing between the two sides. Both are defending
well and City, although I may jinx it now, look much better marshalled
with Kompany at the back. I’ve been impressed with Wimmer too. He’s
slotted into Vertonghen’s boots seamlessly.
30 min:
City break and, after some sharp interplay, win a corner on the right.
Sterling plays a deep outswinger towards the far post but Lloris is out
and after it and he gets a firm punch to clear the danger. What a fine
goalkeeper Lloris is. One of the world’s best.
Sterling fires a shot at goal. Photograph: JMP/REX/Shutterstock
28 min:
Spurs are having a very strong spell here. They’re picking passes
through City’s midfield but in the final third the options dry up.
Meanwhile, how about Yaya as a footballing cyborg?
26 min: Eriksen stings Hart’s palms from 25
yards after a good spell of possession. The balance of power in this
match is swinging one way and the other in absorbing style. There’s some
quality football being played. Spurs look extremely composed when under
pressure. City look dangerous on the break.
24 min: Wimmer
then jumps in the way of Touré in City’s very next move, giving a
free-kick away and doing well himself to avoid a yellow card. The
free-kick is clipped to Kompany on the back post, who nods the ball back
into the box for a mishit shot by Ottamendi that eventually falls to
Sterling. He hammers a shot at goal but watches the ball bury itself in
the midriff of Danny Rose, who throws himself at it and has every last
breath knocked out of him for his effort. Poor Rose. He’s then stamped
on by Fernandinho as he tries to clear down the line. Lay off him eh
lads.
Wimmer jumps in on Toure. Photograph: Oli Scarff/AFP/Getty Images
21 min: Yaya Touré appears to have taken out
Wimmer in the centre of the pitch. He slides in late with his left foot
and thumps into Wimmer’s left ankle. Clattenburg, The Best Referee In
The World TM, doesn’t see it though. Should have been a yellow. That’s
two he’s got away with.
19 min: City are keeping the ball much better
now. Fernandinho is doing a better job at linking the defence and
attacking midfielders than he was early on. Again, Silva and Sterling
combine on the left, but the resulting cross beats everyone and Spurs
clear at the far post. I say it beat everyone, Agüero hadn’t even made
it into the box. He was lurking on the edge, hoping to pounce on a poor
clearance
17 min:
Sterling drives forwards on the left wing. He checks his run and then
dribbles a little ball through to Silva in the inside-left channel. The
little Spaniard hits a cross-shot at the near-post but Alderweireld
stands firm and knocks it behind for a corner. The corner doesn’t bother
anyone. That was a much more fluid attack by City.
Silva keeps ahead of Dembele. Photograph: Alex Livesey/Getty Images
14 min: Spurs are enjoying the greater
possession here. They’re winning the ball back quickly and not wasting
it. That said, they haven’t looked as threatening in the final third as
City have in their few attacks so far. This is a balanced start by
Mauricio Pochettino’s side, though.
12 min: “TV commentators are beyond parody,”
harrumphs Kevin Porter. You’re talking about Niall Quin I take it? “As
the match kicks off Clattenburg is the World’s Greatest Referee
deserving of the utmost respect they eulogise. Three minutes later he’s
made a dreadful mistake not booking Yaya Toure. Because of course he
didn’t have the ultimate view of the incident and the infinite wisdom of
a pundit. Do they ever listen to themselves?” No, unless they really
love the sound of their own voice. So yes, Robbie Savage probably does
listen back to himself afterwards while stroking his hair and ego.
10 min: From the resulting corner the ball is
knocked down towards Agüero, but the striker blasts over from eight
yards as he was unable to get his knee over a ball that was just behind
him.
8 min: City
appear to be growing in confidence now. Silva is finding pockets of
space and linking up play well in the final third. Agüero tries to flick
a ball in to Touré, but Spurs stand firm and then Wimmer prevents a
Sterling cross from reaching Touré – again! – after a smart burst into
the box from the winger coming in off the left-hand flank.
Aguero flicks it on. Photograph: Alex Livesey/Getty Images
5 min:
There’s a long round of applause from the Etihad crowd for a local
band, Viola Beach, whose four members and manager (a City season
ticket-holder) died tragically in a car accident in Sweden last night.
General view during a minutes applause for Viola Beach and Craig Tarry. Photograph: Andrew Yates/Reuters
4 min: Yaya Touré escapes a yellow card.
Clattenburg lets him off for what looked like a bookable offence to me,
presumably because it’s so early in the game. Very generous. Then
Kompany shows signs of rustiness as Rose pings a cross in that the City
captain controls heavily and almost gives Spurs a sniff of a chance.
2 min: It’s
a cagey start. Both teams standing off each other somewhat. Spurs have a
little probe down the right hand side and find only closed doors. They
go backwards and then try attacking through the middle. Dele alli is
fouled and Spurs have a free-kick 25 yards out in a central position.
Eriksen and Alderweireld stand over it …
Alli is fouled by Fernando. Photograph: Andrew Yates/Reuters
1 min: Mark
Clattenburg gives his whistle a shrill peep and we’re off. “Speaking of
footballing cyborgs, Owen Hargreaves readily comes to mind,” offers an
anonymous emailer. Yeah, I can see that you mysterious so and so.
Out they trot to Fatboy Slim’s Right Here, Right Now. There’s
a lusty roar from the Etihad crowd (well, it is Valentine’s Day after
all). They seem to be up for this. Let’s not forget, City will be after
revenge after that 4-1 hiding they were given at White Hart Lane. Here
we go …
The teams are lining up in the tunnels. Harry
Kane, all slicked back hair and steely determination, looks focused.
Vincent Kompany, well, he looks very relaxed given that’s he’s been out
for some time. Let’s see what these contenders are made of shall we?
Who’ll grasp the opportunity to close the gap to Leicester at the top?
I
was going to tell you what Manuel Pellegrini and Mauricio Pochetino
said in their pre-match interviews but, to be honest, having just
listened to them they didn’t say anything remotely interesting. Well, apart from Pellegrini talking up Kompany’s fitness, which would seem a dangerous thing to do given his recent history.
Easy now Vincent. Photograph: Andrew Yates/Reuters
“We have now heard for 1.75 seasons how Spurs have an excellent squad, but they are screwed if Harry Kane gets injured,”
begins Shaun Wilkinson. “Harry Kane has never got injured, even for a
few games. Do they know something we don’t? Is Kane some kind of cyborg?
If so, he is an extremely well engineered one. A hot topic for
discussion - which footballer is the most likely candidate to actually
be a cyborg? Robert Huth seems the most likely for me.” Igor Biscan was a
robot. For sure. As for the current crop, Benteke? He’d be a
malfunctioning one.
If you want to look in on Aston Villa’s humiliation at the hands of Liverpool, you can do so here. Just have a little peep, mind. It’s not pretty. There are 10 minutes of pain left.
So, Kompany is back for City. The
stats this season show that when he’s in the team they win 75% of
games. When he isn’t, that figure drops to just 50%. That’s a huge
difference. Will he be match-fit enough to be so influential today,
though? Gael Clichy is also brought in as is Fernando, who will allow
Yaya Touré to influence play further forwards. As for Spurs,
Pochettino makes four changes. Kyle Walker, Danny Rose, Dele Alli and
Son Heung-min all come in. Fresh legs. So how will they play? “Like
lions, this is what all managers want and expect from their players, to
feel and play,” said Pochettino before the match. “Or horses. Or
tigers.” Make your mind up.
Well, opportunity knocks. Leicester
City’s 2-1 defeat by Arsenal has given the rest a whiff of blood. Spurs
can go within two points of the league leaders with victory. Meanwhile,
Manchester City,
can go within three points and leapfrog their opponents today and move
up to third. It feels like today’s game is more important for City than
Mauricio Pochettino’s young Hotspurs. They’ve been poor against the top
sides this season and that’s why they’re fourth and not first. They’ve
been too often outworked by opponents. Put simply, City will have to run
more today against probably the fittest team in the league if they’re
to win it. Yes, we’re looking at you Yaya. “We’re covering more
distance than teams, we’re able to press teams and not give them a
moment on the ball,” said Spurs full-back Ben Davies before the game.
“That’s not just for 20-30 minutes, that’s throughout the whole game.
The amount of goals and way we play towards the end of games really does
show with the fitness, and as players you’re able to keep going for
longer.” Since learning that he’ll be replaced by Pep next season,
Manuel Pellegrini has even more reason to be laid-back. Is it a big
game Manuel? Manuel?. “It’s not a decisive game but a very important
game - after we play for another 36 points. For our team, it’s important
to try to return to the top of the table. Two or three teams are in
front of us in this moment so we must try to reclaim the points. “Maybe
it was an unexpected defeat against Leicester. The last 11 games we
lost just one before that against Everton in the first leg of a cup
match we went on to win. We were in a good moment but now we must play
well against Spurs.” Spurs swagger into the game on the back of
four consecutive league wins. City stumble into having been torn a new
one by Leicester City. It’s time for Pellegrini’s side to lift it.
Having Sergio Agüero in your team often helps in that respect. And
Vincent Kompany, who starts today after recovering from his latest
injury. My prediction: Manchester City 1-2 Tottenham Hotspur
Manchester City 1-2 Tottenham
Reviewed by Unknown
on
13:25:00
Rating: 5
— Squawka Football (@Squawka) February 14, 2016
Kyle Walker made 6 interceptions in the first half, just two fewer than the entire Man City side combined (8). pic.twitter.com/8xcDyl3xk3— Steve Ladgrove (@steveladgrove) February 14, 2016
Excited for my second ever @AVFCOfficial game today. Hopefully makes the 25 hour flight from Australia worth it! #avfc #avfcliv #upthevilla
— Panini Cheapskates (@CheapPanini) February 14, 2016
@GreggBakowski Always thought peak-Yaya had a bit of the T-1000s about him, minus the liquid metal extend-o-arms. pic.twitter.com/bnQzST5d6b
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