Premier League: Manchester City come back to beat Tottenham Hotspur in six-goal thriller
Manchester City moved to within five points of Premier League leaders Arsenal after coming from behind to beat Tottenham Hotspur 4-2 at the Etihad Stadium.
Dejan Kulusevski and Emerson Royal gave the Lilywhites a remarkable 2-0 lead just before the break, but Pep Guardiola’s half-time team talk worked a treat, as Riyad Mahrez’s brace, Erling Braut Haaland’s header and Julian Alvarez’s tap-in turned the enthralling contest on its head.
Once again with a match involving Tottenham, there was a classic case of one team being the masters of their own downfall in the first half, but it was not those in white this time.
Despite unsurprisingly dominating possession early doors, Guardiola’s men made little inroads and left Hugo Lloris largely untested, barring a deflected Rico Lewis shot in the 40th minute that the Frenchman saved well down to his left.
Cristian Romero had to be alert to prevent Jack Grealish from running through on goal nine minutes beforehand – making a fantastic last-ditch tackle – but not a single soul could have envisaged the end-of-half capitulation that unfolded for the hosts.
After Haaland had missed another couple of gilt-edged chances, Ederson played a risky pass to Rodri inside his own area in the 45th minute, and the Spaniard was immediately dispossessed by Rodrigo Bentancur before Kulusevski fired home.
Some City fans headed for their half-time refreshments early, and those that did were the lucky ones, as Guardiola was left shell-shocked after watching his team fall two goals behind in a matter of minutes.
During the second minute of first-half injury time, Rodri was again robbed of the ball – this time by Harry Kane, whose effort from a tight angle met the gloves of Ederson – but Emerson was on hand to head home the rebound from a few yards out.
Guardiola opted against making any half-time changes, and the decision paid dividends within just six minutes of the second period, as the ball fell kindly at the feet of Alvarez after a goalmouth scramble, and the Argentine duly fired home into the roof of the net.
The visiting crowd would soon be the ones shell-shocked, as only two minutes later, Spurs’ lead was wiped out entirely, as Mahrez headed Rodri’s chipped pass in the direction of Haaland, who nodded home from a yard out for his 22nd Premier League goal.
The momentum could hardly have shifted quicker, but it was Spur who came agonisingly close to goal number five on the hour mark, as Ivan Perisic’s effort deflected off Lewis onto the woodwork following Kulusevski’s pass.
That missed opportunity would prove incredibly costly three minutes later, as Perisic misjudged a long ball out to the right which found the effervescent Mahrez, who dribbled into the box and beat Lloris at his near post via a slight deflection off of Ben Davies.
City looked the more likely to add to their lead and were arguably unfortunate not to have been awarded a penalty in the 82nd minute, as the ball struck the outstretched arm of Richarlison – handed his second reprieve in the space of a few hours after the FA deemed that his altercation with Arsenal’s Aaron Ramsdale in the North London derby warranted no retrospective punishment.
A fourth goal for those in blue would eventually arrive in the 90th minute, and another defensive calamity was to blame, as Clement Lenglet misjudged a long ball over the top, and Mahrez ghosted in to chip Lloris for his second of the match.
Man City could now cut the gap to Arsenal down to two points with victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers on Sunday, while Spurs remain fifth in the table ahead of Monday’s London derby with Fulham.
