Premier League: Record-breaker Harry Kane propels Tottenham to victory over Man City
Harry Kane became Tottenham Hotspur’s all-time leading goalscorer as the 10-man Lilywhites handed Arsenal a major boost in the Premier League title race with a 1-0 win over Manchester City.
The England skipper surpassed Jimmy Greaves with a 267th goal for Spurs – who were without a post-surgery Antonio Conte – in the first half, and the hosts survived a late Cristian Romero red card to prolong the champions’ curse at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Those present in the ground were not getting their money’s worth in the earliest exchanges, as City unsurprisingly dominated the ball without making any inroads.
However, individual errors gifted Tottenham two goals at the Etihad last month, and Pep Guardiola’s side clearly had not learned their lesson, as Kane was gifted his record-breaking goal.
With 15 minutes on the clock, Rodri’s ball to Rico Lewis just outside the Man City penalty box was picked off by Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, who advanced into the box before laying the ball off to Kane.
The England captain coolly picked out the bottom corner to leave the late Greaves in his wake and bring up goal number 267 for Tottenham, while also racking up his 200th in the Premier League.
Joining Wayne Rooney (208) and Alan Shearer (260) in that exclusive club, Kane also achieved the double century in the quickest time, taking 304 games after Shearer and Rooney hit the landmark in 306 and 462 matches respectively.
Often ignoring the multitude of runs made by Erling Braut Haaland, Man City only had one gilt-edged opportunity to restore parity before the break, as Riyad Mahrez rattled the underside of the bar after latching onto Jack Grealish’s cross in stoppage time.
Guardiola nevertheless resisted the urge to bring Kevin De Bruyne off the bench at half time, but the Belgian was soon introduced in the 58th minute – taking the place of Mahrez as Spurs contained City with relative ease.
De Bruyne would produce one of City’s finest chances in the 64th minute, picking out Julian Alvarez inside the box with a neat free kick, but Eric Dier made a smart block before De Bruyne fired wide following the resulting corner.
A pair of Man City penalty appeals were waved away in the process, and Kane was only inches away from making it 268 Tottenham goals a couple of minutes later following a quick counter-attack, but Ivan Perisic’s cross was just beyond the striker.
With the contest having exploded into life, Alvarez sent a long-range effort just wide of the top corner in the 68th minute, as Tottenham reverted to their counter-attacking prowess while the champions unsuccessfully huffed and puffed.
Cristian Stellini’s backline defended admirably, but their task would become all the more difficult in the 87th minute, as Romero tripped Grealish and immediately received a second yellow card from referee Andy Madley.
Tottenham would be forced to navigate five minutes of added time with 10 men, but they did so expertly to secure a fifth straight win over Man City at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, leading to cheers from the white and red side of North London.
Conte’s men remain in fifth place but are now just one point behind Newcastle United – albeit having played a match more – while Man City still have a five-point gap to make up to leaders Arsenal, who have a game in hand.
