Tottenham vs Manchester City Review
Manchester City climbed back into the Premier League top four with a slim 1-0 win over Tottenham, preventing a third loss of the season to Spurs. Despite being the defending champions, their disappointing season is highlighted by the 2-0 defeat to Liverpool at the Etihad Stadium last weekend, which also negatively impacted their chances of qualifying for the UEFA Champions League. With Chelsea’s 4-0 victory over Southampton on Tuesday pushing them into fourth place, City could not afford to drop any more points. In the first half, they did everything possible to secure the three points early and should have been ahead by a larger margin at halftime.
They managed to score with Erling Haaland’s tap-in after some impressive play from Jérémy Doku. However, by that time, Haaland had already had a shot saved from a good position and later squandered an even better opportunity to score from close range. Guglielmo Vicario was up to the task, saving both Haaland’s attempt and Doku’s low shot from the edge of the box. Nevertheless, Haaland’s miss was not as significant as Savinho’s, who was wide open and just eight yards from goal at the back post when Doku found him, but he shot over the bar.
On the other hand, Tottenham struggled to create chances until the 45th minute, when Ederson had to tip Kevin Danso’s header over the bar. After halftime, the dynamics shifted. While City still posed some threat, it was Tottenham who took control of the game and created the best opportunities. Their primary threat came from corners, with Ederson saving headers from Danso and Bentancur before Pedro Porro glanced one over the bar. The best chance, however, fell to 20-year-old Wilson Odobert, who failed to hit the target from Porro’s cross when he only needed to direct the ball towards the goal.
Tottenham’s effort and energy eventually diminished, although Ederson had to save a first-time shot from Son Heung-min. A goal for City in stoppage time was ruled out after a lengthy review, but it did not affect the final result. City is now one point ahead of Chelsea in fifth place with 11 matches left, while Tottenham sits in 13th.
