Manchester City's losing streak stretched to five games as Tottenham Hotspur stunned the Premier League champions with a 4-0 victory at the Etihad Stadium.

On his 28th birthday, James Maddison scored twice in the first 20 minutes as Ange Postecoglou's visitors caught out their hosts on the counter-attack.

City dominated possession but struggled to find a killer pass, and their hopes of a second-half fightback were dashed when Pedro Porro – who spent three years as a City player between 2019 and 2022 – capped another lightning break.

Erling Haaland clipped the crossbar but that was as close as City came to making it competitive, with Brennan Johnson completing the rout as the worst run of Pep Guardiola's managerial career continued.

Second-placed City could now find themselves eight points adrift of the summit after Liverpool’s trip to Southampton on Sunday, while Spurs climbed to sixth, four points further back.

How the match unfolded

Guglielmo Vicario denied Haaland early on before Maddison stunned the Etihad Stadium in the 13th minute, arriving unmarked at the far post to prod Dejan Kulusevski's cross home.

The birthday boy had his second seven minutes later, intercepting Josko Gvardiol's wayward ball before exchanging passes with Son Heung-min and dinking his finish over Ederson.

Ederson tipped Dominic Solanke's shot over at full stretch as the visitors threatened a third, while Vicario dashed from his line to smother Savinho's lob shortly before half-time.

Seven minutes after the interval, the visitors had further daylight thanks to Porro, who lashed into the top-left corner after being teed up by Solanke on the break.

Haaland then rattled the crossbar after latching upon an error in the Spurs backline, but City were sliced open again in stoppage time.

Timo Werner drove beyond Kyle Walker before teeing up fellow substitute Brennan Johnson for an easy finish.

Rodri-less City struggle once again

Ahead of kick-off, the Etihad Stadium paid tribute to stricken star Rodri with an elaborate ceremony to mark his Ballon d'Or win.

Never has his influence over City's midfield been more obvious. With the Spaniard sidelined by an anterior cruciate ligament injury, City have lost five successive matches across all competitions, with their title defence threatening to unravel before the festive season is in full swing.

It is the longest losing run of Guardiola's managerial career, and not been the way he would have wanted to celebrate the contract extension he agreed earlier in the week.

Rodri's ability to snuff out opposition attacks at source and maintain control of the midfield has been central to City's game since he arrived in Manchester five years ago. Without him, the champions struggled to deal with Spurs’ counter.

Porro's goal in particular will have been tough to take. Kulusevski had plenty of space on the left-hand side as he latched onto Son's pass before sweeping the ball out to Solanke. Porro was then unmarked as he stepped onto the striker's cutback to fire home.

City's lack of a like-for-like Rodri replacement will be a point of concern for them ahead of a blockbuster clash with Liverpool at Anfield next.

Scintillating Spurs bounce back

Spurs’ performance here was night and day compared to that of their failed approach in their 2-1 defeat at home to Ipswich Town before the international break.

When allowed space to play on the counter-attack at the Etihad Stadium, they produced some of their most dazzling football under Postecoglou to date.

The individual skills of Spurs' attackers were on full display, from Kulusevski's wonderful delivery for Maddison's opener, to the blistering pace shown by Werner in the build-up to the fourth.

Spurs have earned a reputation as a thorn in City's side in recent years, winning three of four matches against them across 2021/22 and 2022/23, then fighting back to secure a memorable 3-3 draw in this exact fixture last season.

This was surely the most convincing they have ever looked against City, though.

Saturday's result will have provided a much-needed boost for fans, players and the manager alike ahead of tricky fixtures against Fulham, Bournemouth and Chelsea in December.

Club reports

Man City report | Spurs report

Match officials

Referee: John Brooks (pictured). Assistants: Simon Bennett, Dan Robathan. Fourth official: Craig Pawson. VAR: Michael Salisbury. Assistant VAR: Nick Greenhalgh.