Key events
18 minutes: Tottenham suddenly look like a different team and the concern of City fans is palpable. Some murmurs as possession is sent to Son, 30 meters away. Son opens his body and sends a glorious curler to the top right. He heads in, but Ederson touches the post with his fingertips.
17 minutes: Son sends a low cross into the area from the left. City are lucky Kulusevski is hot on their heels, because if he had committed to running through the middle he would be hitting from six yards. A two goal lead for Spurs at this point would have been just crazy.
16 minutes: City are clearly not going to let this go, and Foden hunts for a loose ball on the Spurs D left before curling an improvised effort over the bar. A little lower and on either side of the goalkeeper, and Vicario would have had no chance.
15 minutes: That was a good goal. It's not Gvardiol's best defense, mind you. Perhaps his head is still spinning after Ben Doak's evasion at Hampden last week.
GOAL! Manchester City 0-1 Tottenham Hotspur (Maddison 13)
Well, this result is absolutely absurd! The city could easily be two or three up, but they're behind! Kulusevski rejects Gvardiol on the right. He backtracks before performing a sensational cross over the stranded Stones and onto Maddison, who kicks the ball as it falls to the bottom left. What a goal! What a strange game football can be sometimes!
11 minutes: Savinho gracefully turns into space on the left, leaving an overly committed Dragusin bewildered, and finds Haaland at the penalty spot. Haaland slides to the bottom right for the first time. Vicario kicks clear. Another great opportunity for Haaland, although this time he was denied by an excellent goalkeeper.
10 minutes: Spurs launch their first attack, Son advances down the left and whistles a dangerous pass across the six-yard box. But there is no one else dressed in white with game and Akanji calmly lets the ball pass.
9 minutes: Gundogan throws a pass through the middle and almost finds Foden in the middle. The Spurs swarm and attack, but they can't continue like this. It already seems that a City goal is simply a matter of time.
8 minutes: Silva almost finds Walker in the box on the right with a diagonal pass, but there is too much juice on the ball. Goalkeeper kick, although Walker looked offside anyway. If he had managed to extend a leg and deflect the pass towards the goal, the VAR would surely have disallowed it.
6 minutes: Another corner for City, this time from Gundogan from the left. Maddison manages to make it clear and the ball soon returns to Ederson's feet, which qualifies as a minor victory for the Spurs, as both teams started.
5 minutes: Nothing comes out of the corner. In a parallel universe, Haaland already has two goals tonight.
4 minutes: City should lead and again Haaland is to blame for not putting his team ahead. Gvardiol slides a pass down the right inside channel and Haaland is free! It's that simple! But his first touch is poor and the time he needs to get the ball out from under his feet allows Davies to cross and block the eventual shot for a corner.
3 minutes: Gvardiol crosses from the left for Haaland, who strangely does not go on goal from his position in the right corner of the six-yard box. His headbutt to the face is cleared. But this is a fast start for City. The Spurs have barely had any contact since that kickoff fiasco.
2 minutes: Gundogan sends the resulting free kick towards the far post. Akanji can't turn it towards the goal. Goal kick.
The Spurs get the ball rolling…and lose it in seconds. Foden advances down the right and Bissouma cynically cuts him off from behind. The tackle at 12 seconds, the warning at 16. Enjoy the rest of the evening, Yves!
Rodri may be absent from the city of manchester lineup, but he's in the house tonight. The Etihad main lights dim and the influential midfielder walks onto the pitch, kisses his Ballon d'Or before raising it to the sky in front of high lights that spell out RODRI in Elvis '68 Comeback Special style. And then the teams come out, City in blue, Spurs in white. We'll leave in a minute.
Ange Postecoglou talks to Sky. “A lot of internationals are coming back… Madders has been training with us and is probably one of the freshest… we are aware of the fact that we are going to have a bit of the ball today… start well that way. …Brennan will play a very important role when he comes on the pitch…when you play against City, if you give them too much of the ball they will cause you problems…we will probably move Kulusevski out…he has done well against City in that area. “
Sky Sports asks Pep Guardiola if his new contract will give his team a positive boost. “Positivity depends on the way we play… it's how you have to perform… win games… we've had a lot of injuries… many are now coming back, which is good news for us… it's good to see players available to play.”
He was also asked who will take over Rodri's role in the Ballon d'Or winner's absence now that Mateo Kovačić is out for a month. Rico Lewis? Pep smiles enigmatically. “You will see.”
The 3:00 p.m. matches have finished and the situation at the top is getting tight. Arsenal beat Nottingham Forest 3-0, while Brighton won 2-1 at Bournemouth. Add to that Chelsea's previous 2-1 win at Leicester and the chasing pack is closing in on City in second place. Meanwhile, ten-man Brentford's firm goalless draw at Everton pushes Spurs into the bottom half of the table, at least for a couple of hours.
Manchester City make three changes following their 2-1 defeat at Brighton & Hove Albion. John Stones, Bernardo Silva and Manuel Akanji return; Matheus Nunes and Jahmai Simpson-Pusey will remain on the bench, while Mateo Kovačić will be absent due to injury.
Tottenham also make three changes following their 2-1 loss to Ipswich Town. James Maddison, Yves Bissouma and Ben Davies return to the starting XI, with Brennan Johnson on the bench, Cristian Romero injured and Rodrigo Bentancur suspended.
the teams
City of Manchester: Ederson, Walker, Stones, Akanji, Gvardiol, Lewis, Gundogan, Silva, Savinho, Foden, Haaland.
Substitutes: Ortega, Ake, Grealish, De Bruyne, Nunes, Wright, Simpson-Pusey, O'Reilly, McAtee.
Tottenham Hotspur: Vicario, Porro, Dragusin, Davies, Udogie, Sarr, Bissouma, Maddison, Kulusevski, Son, Solanke.
Substitutes: Forster, Spence, Hardy, Gray, Bergvall, Olusesi, Johnson, Werner, Lankshear.
Referee: John Brooks
VAR: Michael Salisbury
Preamble
We just had an international break and yet it seems like these two never left. They have barely been out of the news all week: Pep Guardiola with his new two-year extension on his city of manchester contract, the Spurs dealing with Bentancur Imbroglio. In that sense, there is more good vibes around City right now… but Spurs have only lost their last two games, while City have lost their last. four. Six and two three.
The thing is, guys, look, listen, buddy, it's Dr. Tottenham, you've been in this kind of state before; Cities, in their modern form, are not so common. Pep, not at all. So it will be interesting to see the golden champions try to bounce back. They don't particularly like playing against Spurs either, and that's not even the DNA of the 1981 FA Cup final: Spurs beat City's reserve team last month in the League Cup, while dealing blows to them. last minute in two of his last three visits to the Etihad, here and here. These two games were interspersed by Thisto be fair, and that will be the peg on which City will hang their hat today. All of which is a long-winded way of saying that this could be a lot of fun, because recent history (and indeed the two games of that epic 1981 clash) suggests quite a bit anything could happen. The start will be at 17:30 GMT. It's on!
