City denied by VAR as Tottenham end 15-win run
The video assistant referee denied Manchester City another crucial late goal in their latest wild match against Tottenham, who ended the 15-game winning run of the English Premier League champions stretching back to January.
Gabriel Jesus thought he’d scored the 92nd-minute winner at the Etihad Stadium, only for VAR — new to the league this season — to rule the ball reached the striker off the arm of Aymeric Laporte as the City defender stretched to head a corner.
The match finished 2-2, with the final whistle greeted with loud boos inside the ground.
Rewind four months and almost exactly the same thing happened to City against Spurs, that time in the Champions League.
On that occasion, Raheem Sterling had a goal disallowed for offside by VAR in the third minute of injury time, denying City a spot in the semifinals.
City manager Pep Guardiola didn’t drop to his knees and look as crestfallen as he did in April, instead engaging in conversation with Spurs counterpart Mauricio Pochettino as confusion reigned around them.
Guardiola will wonder how his team didn’t win after having 30 shots to Tottenham’s three.
Twice taking the lead in the first half, through Sterling and then Sergio Aguero, City were twice pegged back by Tottenham, first by Erik Lamela and then Lucas Moura 14 seconds after he came on as a substitute.
The diminutive Brazil winger ran to the penalty area for a corner and rose highest — somewhat improbably — to send a glancing header looping into the net in the 56th minute.
Aguero was substituted soon after that goal and exchanged some strong words on the sideline with Guardiola as he sat down. The pair was seen embracing near the end of the match, however, suggesting they patched up their differences.
The result leaves City two points behind Liverpool, expected again to be their biggest rivals for the title. ● Liverpool beat Southampton 2-1 earlier in the day. In the space of nine days, Spanish keeper Adrian has made his Liverpool debut as an injury substitute, saved the decisive penalty to win the club the Uefa Super Cup, got injured by a pitch-invading fan and made an embarrassing error in a Premier League game. To say it has been a roller-coaster start to life at Anfield would be an understatement.
Adrian, an off-season signing filling in for the injured Alisson Becker, was a doubt for Liverpool’s match at Southampton after a fan slid into the keeper’s ankle while the team celebrated his crucial penalty stop in a shootout win over Chelsea in the Uefa Super Cup on Thursday.
He was declared fit on the morning of the match and made some good saves before Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino put Liverpool 2-0 up at St Mary’s.
Adrian ensured there was a nervy finish when he kicked a clearance straight at Southampton striker Danny Ings and saw the ball rebound into the net in the 83rd minute.
Liverpool hung on, though, for a second straight win after beating Norwich on the opening day.
● Teemu Pukki scored a divisionhigh 29 goals to propel Norwich to the second-tier League Championship title last season. He cannot stop scoring in the Premier League, either.
After his consolation goal at Anfield on the opening weekend, the Finland striker added another three in a 3-1 dismantling of sorry Newcastle as top-flight football returned to Carrow Road.
“The guys are creating chances — I could have scored more,” Pukki said.
Newcastle have lost both their opening games under new manager Steve Bruce.
● Another striker who has started the season strongly is Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, grabbing winning goals in each of Arsenal’s first two games.
A week after scoring the only goal at Newcastle, Aubameyang led Arsenal to a 2-1 win over Burnley with a shot inside the near post from the edge of the area.
He was tied as the top scorer last season with Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane.
The standout player for Arsenal, though, was Dani Ceballos, who is on a season-long loan from Real Madrid.
He set up both goals — the first scored by Alexandre Lacazette — and showed the touch and vision Arsenal has been missing since the departure of another Spanish playmaker, Santi Cazorla.
● Everton and Bournemouth got their first wins after opening the season with draws.
Brazilian winger Bernard scored in the first half to secure a 1-0 victory for Everton against Watford, while Bournemouth built on a secondminute penalty from Josh King to beat Aston Villa 2-1.
Aston Villa skipper Jack Grealish has lost a record 20 straight Premier League games, stretching back to when the team was last in the top flight in 2015-16.
Brighton and West Ham drew 1-1 in the day’s other match.