Under-fire Guardiola rocked by stunning late Spurs fightback
PEP thought it was all over. And it probably is now.
Guardiola’s Manchester City were two thoroughly deserved goals up against a Tottenham side who looked a pale shadow of the powerhouse team they’ve looked all season. But Tottenham sub Heung-min Son pulled what looked like certain defeat from the fire for Mauricio Pochettino.
The goal came just 30 seconds after Kyle Walker had shoved Raheem Sterling in the back inside the Spurs penalty area and referee Andre Marriner waved play-on, seemingly because Sterling didn’t go down.
Dele Alli had given Spurs a lifeline with a 58th minute header but by then City should have been over the hills and far away.
But it’s the oldest cliché in football. You’ve got to make your superiority count.
And City were totally superior, even though both their goals came from errors by the normally ultrareliable Hugo Lloris.
And, oh the irony! City are supposed to be the team with the dodgy keeper. Lloris gifted City two goals in the space of five minutes, his errors allowing first Leroy Sane then Kevin De Bruyne walk the ball over the line.
Guardiola took his team to see La La Land at the cinema in midweek and there have been those who’ve suggested that’s where he’s been residing these past few months.
They were much better here, but in the end not enough.
The opening to the season when City won their first six League games and 10 on the trot in all competitions is a distant memory.
They’ve now got just seven wins in 16 and runaway first has become struggling fifth.
Spurs had been the team to end that winning run back in September and in contrast to City’s recent form, they’d won six on the trot.
They’ve not won seven League games in a row for 40 years and they never looked like making history. City were at it from the get-go. Kevin De Bruyne’s quick-thinking pass found Raheem Sterling but the alert Danny Rose covered brilliantly and denied the City man a shot.
De Bruyne then found Pablo Zabaleta in an even more dangerous position and this time it was a Toby Alderweireld challenge that saved Spurs. Kevin Wimmer was booked and Eric Dier was yellow-carded for hauling back Sergio Aguero on his way through to goal. City asked for red but Marriner ruled that he wasn’t the last man. Lloris saved brilliantly from David Silva in the 20th minute and from the corner Zabaleta drove a fraction wide of the post.
Aguero robbed Alderweireld on the edge of the box but De Bruyne pulled his shot wide of the far post.
Sane missed the best chance of all when he headed Gael Clichy’s cross wide in the 34th minute.
Four minutes later, another clear chance and this time Aguero’s header from De Bruyne’s cross clutched from the air by Lloris.
A minute later the French keeper was scrambling another Aguero effort round his post. A doublefisted punch from Sterling’s drive came next, then a crucial block by Victor Wanyama to deny Sterling.
City were as dominant as at any time during that 10-game winning run and ripping the Premier League best defence apart with every attack. And they came at them in waves.
At the other end there was no sign of Harry Kane, Alli or Christian Eriksen.
Pochettino changed things at the break, went from three at the back to an orthodox four and brought on Heung-min Son. It proved crucial.
But four minutes into the second half City took the lead when De Bruyne’s long ball dropped on the edge of the Spurs box, Lloris tried to head clear and missed it completely. Sane ran the ball into an empty net.
Lloris made another disastrous error a few second later when he spilled a routine cross from Sterling at De Bruyne’s feet and the Belgian tapped in. But within four minutes Tottenham were back in it through Alli, who drifted away from his markers to power a header from Kyle Walker’s cross past Bravo.
Then came the penalty appeal in the 77th minute when Sterling was clean through and Walker pushed him in the back. He stumbled his shot at Lloris and Marriner turned away. Son made the decision even more crucial from the counterattack when he tucked in the equaliser after Kane flicked on Eriksen’s pass.
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