Manchester City was held in check on their lawn this Sunday, on the 14th day of the Premier League, by Tottenham (3-3). Son Heung-Min first opened the scoring for Spurs (6th), before scoring against his side just after (9th). City then made the difference through Foden (31st). The Londoners then equalized through Lo Celso (69th), but the Skyblues took the lead thanks to Grealish (82nd). But Tottenham believed in it until the end and ended up equalizing with a superb header from Kulusevski (90th).
After conceding a draw against Chelsea (4-4) and Liverpool (1-1), the Citizens – third (30 pts) behind Liverpool (31) – miss the opportunity to come back to within one point of leader Arsenal (33) , in the lead with a three-point lead. Spurs, now fifth, stopped the bleeding after conceding three defeats in a row, against Chelsea (4-1), Wolverhampton (2-1) and Aston Villa (2-1). Tottenham is only two points behind Aston Villa (4th) and the qualifying places for the Champions League.
As is often the case with Manchester City, Guardiola’s men were expected in force from the start of the match. However, it was their opponents who opened the scoring, to everyone’s surprise. The Spurs projected themselves perfectly, thanks to a cross from Kulusevski for Son. The latter escaped Gvardiol’s marking, before deceiving Ederson, not impeccable, with a low cross shot (6th).
But the residents of the Etihad Stadium did not take long to react. On a free kick hit by Alvarez, slightly deflected by Haaland at the near post, Son, surprised by the trajectory, propelled the ball into his own net (9th). The Skyblues then accelerated and created two new chances, missed by Haaland. Doku then found the crossbar (30th), just before Foden put City in front (32nd)! Concluding a superb collective movement, he took advantage of Alvarez’s perfect serve to deceive Vicario. The score could even have increased if the post had not opposed Alvarez’s attempt (35th). Pep Guardiola’s men returned to the locker room logically leading two goals to one.
After an exciting first period, the second did not spoil the party. After conceding a new opportunity that Vicario brilliantly repelled (46th), Lo Celso took advantage of a discount from his captain Son to get on his left foot and send a powerful strike low to the ground, into the back of the net. It was then that the meeting got even more heated. 10 minutes from the end of normal time, Grealish gave his team the lead again thanks to a cross from Haaland, the passer this Sunday.
But in the 90th minute, Johnson sent a perfect cross to the far post, which Kulusevski headed into the net with a spectacular release. In added time, Grealish thought he could rush to goal alone and challenge Vicario, but the referee whistled for a foul committed on Haaland at the start of the action. The match ended under attack from the Citizens, furious at this refereeing decision. But Tottenham held on and earned a good point from this perilous trip.
