MANCASHTER CITY  4  (0)  TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR  2  (2)
Date : –  – November 2022 Kick off : –  20.00
Competition : – Premier League Venue : –  Etihad Stadium
Crowd : –  53,088
Referee : –  Simon Hooper (Wiltshire) Linesmen : – Mr. Adrian Holmes; Mr. Eddie Smart
Fourth official : –  David Coote
VAR official : – Darren England VAR Assistant : – Matthew Wilkes
Weather : –  Dry, Cold
Spurs kicked off the first half attacking the North Stand end
Playing time : –   90 + 8 minutes

 

MANCASHTER CITY TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR
GOAL-SCORERS
    Alvarez  50m 49s   Kulusevski  43m 59s
    Haaland  52m 59s   Royal  45+1m 06s
    Mahrez  62m 55s
    Mahrez  89m 07s
CARDS
  Mahrez (foul on Kulusevski)  21   Romero  (foul on Akanji)  23.
       Hojbjerg  (foul on Lewis)  31
 

 

MANCASHTER CITY TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR
31.   EDERSON 1.   Hugo LLORIS (c)
     
82.   Rico LEWIS  (  2.   Kyle WALKER  83)  17.   Cristian ROMERO 
5.   John STONES 15.   Eric DIER
25.   Manuel AKANJI 33.   Ben DAVIES  (  34.   Clement LENGLET  78) 
6.   Nathan AKE     
   12.   Emerson ROYAL      (  9.   RICHARLISON  78)
16.   RODRI  5.   Pierre-Emile HOJBJERG 
8.   Ilkay GUNDOGAN  (c)  (  20.   Bernardo SILVA  81)  30.   Rodrigo BENTACUR  (  38.   Yves BISSOUMA 75) 
14.   Ivan PERISIC (  19.   Ryan SESSEGNON  69)  
26.   Riyad MAHREZ           
19.   Julian ALVAREZ  21.   Dejan KULUSEVSKI 
10.   Jack GREALISH 7.   Heung-Min SON
      
9.   Erling HAALAND    (  3.   Ruben DIAS  90+1)   10.   Harry KANE
Substitutes Substitutes
18.   Stefan ORTEGA 20.   Fraser FORSTER
7.   CANCELO 2.   Matt DOHERTY
14.   Aymeric LAPORTE 6.   Davinson SANCHEZ
47.   Phil FODEN 25.   Japhet TANGANGA
17.   Kevin DEBRUYNE 29.   Pape Matar SARR
4.   Kelvin PHILLIPS  

    = Assist        =  Goal scored       =  Own goal scored

Manager : – Pep Guardiola Manager : –  Antonio Conte
Kit Supplier : – Nike Kit Supplier : – Nike
Shirt Sponsor : – Etihad airways Shirt Sponsor : – AIA
Shirt Sleeve Sponsor : – Nexen Tire Shirt Sleeve Sponsor : – cinch
Colours : – 
Colours : –
worn with white socks
Images of kits courtesy of the marvellous Colours of Football website

 

MATCH REPORT
Mancashter City produced a second half performance to overturn a two goal deficit to run out 4-2 winners over Spurs at the Etihad Stadium.

Going into the game, Spurs looked odds on to end up with nothing from the visit to the North-West, but having gone into the dressing room at half-time with a 2-0 lead, it was a great disappointment not to be able to hang on to take something from the game.  Rodrigo Bentancur and Ben Davies came into the team in place of Sarr and Lenglet, but the Spurs midfield had a torrid time trying to shackle them to cut out the supply to Erling Haaland.

Within five minutes, City looked for the striker in the air in the Spurs box, but a little nudge by Royal allowed the ball to fly over the head of the Norwegian.  A corner in the 10th minute went to the far post, where Haaland was lurking, but with Bentancur pulled to the ground, the City striker’s weak volley was blocked for another corner, which Spurs dealt with.  Alvarez was winning free-kicks off Davies around the box, as the home side looked to create something and Mahrez could only hit the wall.

After having the bulk of possession in the first eight minutes, City started winning the ball in midfield from a quarter of an hour in.  A move down the City left made a shooting chance for Alvarez, but Eric Dier threw a great block to stop it and Tottenham broke away, with Mahrez bringing down Kulusevski for the first yellow card of the match.  He was soon followed into the referee’s book by Cristian Romero for a foul on Akanji, as the City defender brought the ball forward.  With 25 minutes gone, Perisic put a deft cross in from the left and it looked as though Harry Kane might have got a volley on it at the far post, but Ake just got a touch on it with his head to put it out for a corner.  Spurs failed to make anything from it and City moved forward with Bentancur blocking a shot from Rodri for a corner, from which City won another.  When a Spurs move broke up outside the City box, they counter-attacked and Romero made a perfectly timed sliding challenge on Grealish as he made his way into the box.

Hojbjerg got booked for a foot on Lewis’ ankle when a challenge down the Dane’s shin had gone without the same punishment.  It seems like inconsistency is the only consistent thing you can expect from referees.  Spurs did put a nice passing move together that could have brought more had the referee not got in Hojbjerg’s way when the ball was played to him outside the box, but play went on and Davies’ cross was headed on target by Son.  The pace was taken out of the effort by Ake’s shoulder and it was a simple catch for Ederson.

It brought a little spell of pressure, with another corner won by Royal, although nothing came from it.  Hugo Lloris had to produce a good save, low down to his left, as Lewis drove in a shot that took a deflection.  Hugo also was alert when a ball over the top to Haaland brought a good block as the striker took it to the left of the goal and then challenged the ball as it spin into the air.  Rodri’s dink into the middle found Haaland’s head, with Lloris coming for it, but not getting to it.  Fortunately for Spurs, the ball went over the top.

City’s intent on playing the ball out from the back back-fired on them.  Ederson played the ball in Rodri’s direction, but Bentancur closed him down, panicking him into prodding the ball sideways to Kulusevski.  He steadied himself before sliding a left foot shot low to the keeper’s right and Tottenham were ahead.

Soon it was 2-0.  Kane had to chase the ball on the break, forcing Stones to push the ball out to the Spurs right wing.  Dejan picked it up and played Kane into a position inside the right of the box and he was strong as he went to ground in a duel with Rodri and came out of it with the ball.  He drilled the ball at goal, much like Saka on Sunday, but Ederson beat the ball out, only onto Emerson Royal’s head and he nodded it back past the prone keeper from the edge of the six-yard box to add to the score a minute into added time.  The move started with the ball being won at the back and the referee did well to let play go on, as Bentancur was taken out late by Akanji, although he wasn’t booked for what was as bad a tackle as the first half had seen.  In a reversal of fortunes for Spurs, because it was City who were booed off as the whistle went for the end of the first half.

A right wing cross by Mahrez dropped in the six yard box and Hugo dived forward to try to punch it out, but only as far as Alvarez, who drove the ball back past him to give City the goal early in the second half they needed to get back into the match.

All of a sudden, Spurs were giving the ball away and when Rodri lifted a ball into the Tottenham box, Mahrez nodded the ball across and Haaland headed in from close range to level the score within two minutes of the first goal.  It was just what Spurs didn’t need, with a need to keep things tight for ten to fifteen minutes, but they barely last eight.

Mahrez then hit a shot from 18 yards that swerved away from goal, but Tottenham were unable to hold onto the ball.  When they did, Ake took Kulusevski out with a really bad, late challenge, but, again, no booking was forthcoming.  Just before the hour, Kulusevski made a great run down the right and his low ball back across goal ended with Perisic hitting a shot that took a touch off Lewis that made it fly up onto the bar.  Spurs moved the ball well and Kane started a move that went through Hojbjerg and Kulusevski before the striker drove a shot wide from outside the box.  It was just after the hour that Mahrez cut inside as Perisic dived in and then went outside Davies to fire a low shot at the near post that beat Lloris via a little deflection off the Welshman.  From 0-2 down to 3-2 up, City were everything in the second half that they weren’t in the first.

Gundogan brought down Bentancur with a late tackle and then whinged in the referee’s face that he hadn’t got a free-kick when he had gone down weakly just before.  A good spell of possession in the attacking third for Spurs saw Dejan, Emerson and Son play the ball between themselves on the right wing before a cross was cleared to Romero, who hit a shot way into the stand behind the goal.  City wanted a penalty when a far post header from a corner hit substitute Richarlison and VAR looked at it, but decided it wasn’t.  The ball hit Richi on the back of his arm high up above the short-sleeve level, so it shouldn’t have been given, even though the home crowd decided it should.  They wanted another when Mahrez slipped a pass into the box for Haaland and Romero was strong enough to hold him up.

The referee really lost it towards the end.  Rodri fouled Kulusevski late, but when he tried to keep his feet, but didn’t get a free-kick.  The ball was then moved forward by City to Grealish, who Romero pushed over without a free kick given against him.  It was turning into a bit of a free for all.  When Kane got free on the right, his cross was at a good height for Ederson to take and Son had no chance of getting to it.  From there City played the ball back to Ederson to lump the ball forward and Lenglet’s mis-control allowed Mahrez to go through and clip the ball over Lloris’ dive in the last minute of normal time.

Much criticism of Lloris will no doubt be made, but Ederson was culpable for both Spurs goals, so even the keepers of the top sides make errors and it is individual errors that are still costing us points.  The margins are very slim at this level and was it good defending or good fortune that Lewis got a touch on Perisic’s shot that could have made it 3-2 instead of bouncing off the crossbar ?  Was it bad defending or bad luck that Mahrez’s shot took a touch off Davies to beat Lloris at his near post ?

We have history of throwing away leads against City and before the game, it would have been reasonable to believe that we would get thumped.  Yes, we were beaten and although we didn’t really deserve to be two up at the interval, it was churlish to throw that away even though City were much the better side in the second half.  It was another defeat and another post-match press conference where Conte spouted a similar line about how we need to play, but he knew what he was taking on at Spurs and that he wouldn’t have the money to spend that he did at Chelsea or Juventus, so the focus will be on his coaching ability to get the best from the players.  It wasn’t the worst defeat in the world, however frustrating it was, but the media will jump on it and make more of it, but the tide needs to turn soon if we are to even have a sniff of qualifying for the Champions League for next season.

That seems a long way off a the moment.

Gary Sampson

 

MATCH NOTES
  • Spurs players wore black armbands as a mark of respect for Anton Walkes, our former defender, who died on 18th January 2023 in a boating accident in America.

 

OTHER RESULT
Crystal Palace 1 Mancashter United 1


Premier League Table 2022-23

Played Won Drawn Lost For Against Points Goal difference
1 Woolwich Wanderers 18 15 2 1 42 14 47 +28
2 Mancashter City 19 13 3 3 50 20 42 +30
3 Mancashter United 19 12 3 4 30 22 39 +8
4 Newcash United 19 10 8 1 33 11 38 +22
5 Tottenham Hotspur 20 10 3 7 39 31 33 +8
6 Fulham 20 9 4 7 32 29 31 +3
7 Brighton & Hove Albion 18 9 3 6 35 25
30 +10
8 Brentford 19 7 8 4 32 28 29 +4
9 Liverpool 18 8 4 6 34 25 28 +9
10 Chelsea 19 8 4 7 22 21 28 +1
11 Aston Villa 19 7 4 8 22 27 25 -5
12 Crystal Palace 19 6 5 8 18 27 23 9
13 Nottingham Forest 19 5 5 9 15 34 20 -19
14 Leeds United 18 4 5 9 26 33 17 -7
15 Leicester City 19 5 2 12 26 33 17 -7
16 Wolverhampton Wanderers 19 4 5 10 12 27 17 -15
17 AFC Bournemouth 19 4 4 11 18 41 16 -23
18 West Ham United London 19 4 3
12 15 25 15 -10
19 Everton 19 3 6 10 15 26 15 -11
20 South Coast Big Club 19 4 3 12 17 34 15 -17