Erling Haaland scored the only goal as Manchester City boosted their hopes of a top-four finish with a 1-0 away win over Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday.
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Sunday's loss to Liverpool left last season’s Premier League champions 20 points adrift of the leaders and Chelsea's 4-0 win over Southampton on Tuesday saw City drop out of the top four.
But Pep Guardiola's side produced a dominant first-half performance in north London, which was rewarded when Haaland tapped home on his return from injury for his 20th Premier League goal of the season.
That made him just the second player to reach that tally in each of his first three campaigns in the competition, after Ruud van Nistelrooy did so for Manchester United between 2001/02 and 2003/04.
Haaland saw a late second disallowed for handball following a VAR check that confirmed the referee’s on-field decision, while Pape Sarr missed a glaring chance to level when he headed over in the 98th minute.
The hosts stay 13th in the table with 33 points, while City are now just one point behind third-placed Nottingham Forest, who they face in their next league match.
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Liverpool
LIV
|
28 | +40 | 67 |
| 2 |
Arsenal
ARS
|
27 | +28 | 54 |
| 3 |
Nott'm Forest
NFO
|
27 | +11 | 48 |
| 4 |
Man City
MCI
|
27 | +16 | 47 |
| 5 |
Chelsea
CHE
|
27 | +16 | 46 |
| 6 |
Newcastle
NEW
|
27 | +8 | 44 |
How the match unfolded
Haaland had already forced one save from Guglielmo Vicario by the time he gave City a 12th-minute lead, sweeping Jeremy Doku's low cross home from six yards out.
Doku should have had two further assists by the half-hour mark. First, his searching cross was somehow turned over by the unmarked Savinho, then he found Haaland in another brilliant position only for Vicario to make a vital close-range save.
Spurs struggled to create chances before the break but should have levelled 10 minutes into the second half, as Pedro Porro's whipped cross was prodded wide by Wilson Odobert.
Mathys Tel and Brennan Johnson missed half-chances as Spurs finally put City under sustained pressure, then substitute Son Heung-min saw a scuffed effort repelled by Ederson.
Haaland thought he had made the points safe in stoppage time, but the referee’s on-field decision to disallow the goal for handball was confirmed following a VAR review.
Spurs almost made that reprieve count in the eighth additional minute, but Sarr headed over from the centre of the box as City clung on.
Postecoglou's changes fall flat
Spurs have endured plenty of lows in 2024/25, but November's reverse fixture at the Etihad Stadium represented the high point of their campaign, and arguably of the entire Ange Postecoglou era.
Despite being without first-choice centre-backs Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven, Spurs tore City to shreds in a 4-0 win, with Dejan Kulusevski and Son contributing to a scintillating counter-attacking performance.
But both Kulusevski and Son dropped to the bench here and Spurs failed to show anything as an attacking force in the first half. After Tel sent a tame flick into Ederson's arms in the fifth minute, they went 40 minutes without attempting a shot of any description.
Spurs improved dramatically after half-time but were wasteful in their finishing, with Sarr missing their best chance when left totally unmarked in the final action of the match.
With Spurs having eight days to rest up for their next fixture – the first leg of their UEFA Europa League last-16 tie against AZ Alkmaar – fans might wonder whether Postecoglou's decision to rotate his attack was misguided.
That competition represents Spurs' final shot at silverware this season, and a nine-point gap separates them from the top half of the Premier League table. Next up on league duty is the visit of AFC Bournemouth on 9 March.
City inch over the line
This week, Guardiola refuted suggestions that re-establishing City's dominance will be the toughest task of his career, pointing out that the Citizens have already been through multiple rebuilds since he arrived in 2016.
Many expect City to refresh their squad when the curtain comes down on their underwhelming campaign and, while this performance demonstrated there is work to be done, it also showed they have players capable of contributing in the future.
Doku produced a lively display on the left-hand side and, with better finishing from his team-mates, he would have had three assists by the half-hour mark.
Then there is Haaland. Returning to the side after a knee issue caused him to miss defeats to Real Madrid and Liverpool, the Norwegian was in the right place at the right time to score.
Guardiola was visibly concerned by City's lack of control after the break, but they rode their luck to get over the line. They host Plymouth Argyle in the FA Cup on Saturday, before visiting Nottingham Forest for a battle of UEFA Champions League hopefuls on 8 March
Match reports
Spurs report | Man City report
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