Mancashter City (Home) 26.02.2025

A throwback to the pre-Premier League days set the kick-off for this game at 7.30, of course because of live TV scheduling, with a noisy away support down in the North-East corner, but they were matched by the Spurs crowd who got behind the team.

It was a frantic start with both sides looking to penetrate into the other’s box with Tottenham having the first effort on goal from a sixth minute corner that James Maddison played in low for Mathis Tel to get a flick to with his foot directing the ball at goal while facing away from it, but the ball popped up comfortably for Ederson.  Guglielmo Vicario had an equally straightforward save to make when Nunes got in behind the left side of our defence to put the ball into the middle of the box where Haaland was stationed, but with his weight going backwards, his shot lacked any power and it went low at the Spurs keeper.  Vicario was quick out to the edge of his box to claim a long through pass that Haaland went for, but was second best.  

Doku got in behind Pedro Porro and then outmuscled him, but his ball pulled back into the box was cut out by Destiny Udogie.  When Porro’s long pass was just too strong for Maddison to reach, Ederson started the move that City played out from defence.  The ball was moved up the right wing, then infield when they crossed the halfway line before playing it wide left to Doku.  He took on Porro and played a low ball into the six yard box allowing Haaland to turn it past Vicario at the near post as he drifted between Kevin Danso and Udogie.  

With Wilson Odobert and Brennan Johnson hugging the touchline, it was difficult to find a pass to them, as the City full-backs were getting tight to them and it was hard to find a pass over them into the space beyond the back-line.  Lucas Bergvall was picking the ball up and looking to make progressive passes, but the midfield was very congested.  Spurs had to be alert on the cover as City used Doku to attack Porro, who had little protection in front of him, so important interceptions in the Spurs box by Rodrigo Benancur and Udogie saved any further pressure on the Tottenham goal.  However, in the 27th minute Doku provided a golden chance for Savinho with a ball in from the left, but the opposite winger hit his shot into the ground and it bounced over an unguarded goal.  A couple of minutes later Vicario had to make a sharp save to stop Haaland almost scoring a replica of the first goal, but with the ball coming in from Doku again, after Kevin Danso had his legs pulled back while on the ground by Marmoush in the opposite corner.

Bentancur picked up a yellow card for a sliding challenge on Nunes in which he looked to have won the ball first but coming in from the side made contact with the opponent.  That was after half an hour, so left him with a long time to play on a knife edge.  As it was Danso escaped a yellow card after a foul was given to City when he and Marmoush were both pulling each other’s shirts, although Gonzalez also went unpunished for falling on Maddison five yards outside the Spurs box just before, when a pass would have set Tottenham on a good break.  Kevin also made a good block to Savinho’s shot inside the box, while we toiled to try and relieve the pressure that came in waves. 

The referee was in the way when James tried to spark an attack, then failed to book Nunes for tripping Udogie when he went onto a pass down the left.  The City man was nowhere near the ball and the referee’s inconsistency was only the start of the shockingly bad performance he turned in tonight.  You have to question who assesses the dreadful decision-making that Gillett made throughout the match and why isn’t anything done about it ?  Another foul on Bentancur on the left brought a free-kick that Maddison put on top of Ederson with pace, although Danso was just a foot away from making contact. 

A minute before half time a free-kick found Danso a yard inside the penalty box and his header was aimed to the top corner, making Ederson leap to push it over for a corner, which was taken short, but read by City who looked to break away and thankfully, Nunes’ ball across goal was beyond all his team-mates.

After the break, the same players took to the field and there were a number of occasions when Kovacic showed his age by not being able to keep pace with the Spurs youngsters and resorted to pushing and pulling them without anything given, but when Destiny bumped Savinho, the City winger stopped with the referee taking that as a foul.  Much like Casemiro in the last home match, Bergvall was easing past Kovacic to take the team forward.  One run from halfway inside his own half to halfway inside the City half, Lucas won a throw that was worked to Maddison and he played it wide to Porro and his low ball across the face of goal was missed by Tel in front of goal as it was too far ahead of him and then Odobert came sliding in beyond the far post but couldn’t turn it back on target.

When another Porro crossed was batted out by Ederson, the ball ran out to the right where Savinho went past Maddison, who made a horrible neck high rugby tackle to stop him getting away and received a booking.  Immediately, Marmoush did the same to Bergvall and nothing was given at all.  Gvardiol pushed Johnson over with two hands and then he stopped Spurs taking a quick free-kick, without anything more than a short ticking off.  City were aware that Spurs were getting on top and were pulling out every trick in the book to break up play.  Danso’s header to a Maddison free-kick was soft and from a long way out so went into Ederson’s hands, with the keeper claiming a foul when Odobert came inside to unleash a shot that deflected up in the air off Nunes and Johnson went for the ball, which the goalie interpreted as a foul.  As Porro waited to take the corner, Dias pushed Bergvall over in the box with two hands and when it came in, it went off of Bentancur’s back but the officials gave a corner and this one Rodrigo met with his forehead, but the keeper was right behind it.  

There was a great chance when Udogie brushed off Savinho to win the ball and played it towards Mathys Tel int he box, but Nunes got back to toe the ball off for a corner.  That allowed four Spurs subs to come on after waiting for four minutes for a break in play.  Odobert, Udogie, Tel and Bentancur went off and on came Spence, Son, Kulusevski and Sarr.  From the corner, Johnson tried to glide it off his head at the near post but it went too high.  Son and Spence played the ball between them on the left and Djed pulled it back for Sarr to shoot, but he sliced it and Nunes had to head it away even though the ball was going wide.  

The referee again prevented Tottenham taking a quick freekick to allow City to make a double sub with Silva and Foden coming off the bench.  However, Johnson ran away from the supposed fresh legs of Foden down the right and his ball pulled back and intended for Maddison in the D was reached on the stretch by Kulusevski and it ran through to the keeper.  City were panicking in possession as the Tottenham press was forcing errors from them, but with eight minutes to go Savinho fired in a shot that looked as if it was going wide, but Danso headed it just to make sure and from the resulting corner, Sarr won a tackle, Spurs broke with Johnson easily getting past Kovacic, before putting a low ball across in front of Son, who struck it first time and brought a fine low save from Ederson at his near post. 

Pape Matar Sarr got a booking for a push in the back, with Foden going down holding his head and the England midfielder was on the end of some heavy tackling, which he took exception to.  When Bergvall uncharacteristically gave the ball away 25 yards from the Spurs goal, a result of not having anyone to pass to, Haaland passed down the right inside of the box, but Danso made a sliding interception then looked to bring the ball away until Savinho pulled him back with hands across Danso’s shoulders.  

With four minutes added time announced, the City press made Spurs hurry trying to pass out and from a throw for them at our end, Kulusevski won a throw at the other.  The game was getting stretched and when Danso lost possession outside the City box, they broke and only a sliding challenge on Doku by Gray 10 yards inside the Tottenham half stopped them getting away.  Doku got substituted which seemed to take a minute and from the restart of a city free-kick the ball bounced for Haaland as he played a one-two with Foden and poked it past Vicario as he charged past Danso and Gray.  He wheeled away to celebrate, but the referee had disallowed for handball.  Three minutes and twenty five seconds later VAR decided that the referee was right, but video replays after the match seemed to indicate that it bounced between the three players and Haaland got the first touch off his arm before it his Danso’s arm.  

Spurs took the free-kick short and Archie’s ball forward picked out Kulusevski’s head, directing it wide to Porro on the right.  He played the bouncing ball first time into the box, Son flicked it on and Sarr came in behind him but couldn’t keep his header down with it going a yard over.  Son’s touch probably made the ball too high for the midfielder to get it on target.  The final whistle appeared to be blown without the full amount of added time being played, seeing as how there was the long VAR stoppage and a substitution in added time, but that wasn’t the most embarrassing mistake the referee made.  With linesman Darren Cann clearly indicating earlier in the match that Savinho had come back from an offside position and Gillett awarded a free-kick inside the City half.  Unbelievable, when he was picky about where throw-ins were taken from … for about the first fifteen minutes, then lost interest.  

It was a match that could have gone either way, with both sides missing chances, but not taking them, although Vicario had fewer shots to save than Ederson and the one he made in the first half where he dived low to push away Marmoush’s effort at full length was a good stop.  Rotating players might have been a mistake, but the performances put in made City work hard for their win, especially in the second half and with a little more luck, it might have paid off.  Odobert showed what he is capable of and Bergvall made an impressive impact by bossing the midfield.

It was always going to be a tough match, as City might have been on a bad run since we beat them here in the League Cup, but they were just starting to win again and have enough in their squad to give any team a game with Spurs still without five first teamers.  At least there’s an eight day break before we travel to Holland for the Europa League matcha against AZ Alkmaar, with a result needed to bring something home for the second leg.

• This was Tottenham’s second ever youngest team fielded in the Premier League with an average age of 23 years and 243 days.  The youngest side put out by Spurs in the Premier League was v Sheffield Wednesday (away) on September 1992