PEP JOY RUINED AGAIN
Just like Champions League, video ref chalks off late City winner over Spurs
HERE we were again. The Etihad was enjoying a glorious celebration of a winning goal. For a good two minutes they cavorted and danced.
Gabriel Jesus had been euphorically congratulated at length and both teams had resumed their places. The Tottenham players, even with t heir history here, seemed resigned to defeat.
We were two minutes into added time, and finally their resilience had been broken.
Jesus had controlled and struck the ball home from Kevin De Bruyne’s corner. It was a victory City certainly deserved. They had at times overwhelmed Tottenham, who had Hugo Lloris to thank for a performance of extraordinary agility, leaping one way and the next to defy Pep Guardiola’s team.
And then, hesitantly, referee Michael Oliver made that signal with his hands to indicate a television screen; like Give Us A Clue only with more momentous consequences.
En route t o Jesus, Aymeric Laporte had deflected the ball with his arm. And the new rules state that any handball leading directly to a goal, unintentional or not, will be punished. And so, in the far corner, Tottenham fans celebrated, just as they had here back in April, when Raheem Sterling’s goal was ruled out in the dying seconds and Tottenham were reprieved and sent into a Champions League semifinal.
On the touchline, Guardiola and Mauricio Pochettino, who do not seem to be the closest of colleagues, embraced. In reality, both seemed bewildered. Not just at the uncanny sense of déjà vu but also by the twisted overarching narrative of this game. City, therefore, failed to win in the Premier League for the first time since defeat at Newcastle in late January — 15 wins in a row.
Statistics will tell you a certain amount about a game of football. In these days of digital tracking, they can present a pretty full picture — Manchester City had 30 shots on goal to Tottenham’s three; they had 54 per cent of the possession; they had 13 corners to Tottenham’s two. In short, they utterly outplayed Tottenham here.
Except, of course, they did not. The seemingly unstoppable machine of a team battered Tottenham from every conceivable angle. Had it been a fight, the referee would have stopped it. But Tottenham were still standing at the end.
Those three shots? They had elicited two goals, which to present a positive spin is an impressive strike rate. Tottenham are a team fashioned in the image of their manager, the tough farmer’s kid from an Argentina backwater.
They defy stats at times. Their character is undeniable. They were a long way from matching City. And yet, they matched City.
This was a much more cautious Pochettino than you usually see in his duels with Guardiola. With Moussa Sissoko on the right side of midfield and Harry Winks and Tanguy Ndombele holding, there was a solidity to this team.
Yet without the ball you are nothing. And without the ball and 1-0 down you are less than nothing, which is where Tottenham found themselves after 20 minutes.
Sterling scored, a good header angled with power, an additional skill to his ever-growing repertoire and his fourth goal of the season. Yet it was the genius of De Bruyne which would stand out in its creation and throughout the half.
The inswinging cross, with pace, curl and clinical accuracy, was wonderful. It invited a goal, evading craning Tottenham necks and dropping into Sterling’s path.
Like a slow blossoming flower, Tottenham had seemed reluctant to engage. Yet the goal sparked their competitive edge. They ventured into City’s half, working the ball out to Danny Rose on the left and back inside to Ndombele. He threaded a pass through for Erik Lamela, yet there seemed little danger.
Ilkay Gundogan, though, was sleeping and declined to track his man. The Argentinian thus grew in confidence, ran on towards the penalty area and shot. Without having been seriously tested, goalkeeper Ederson was picking the ball out from the net and City found themselves level 23 minutes in.
In some ways, it was heartening that a flaw could exist in what seems to be an impregnable team. They seemed so dominant over a supposed title challenger, that you longed for a sterner test.
Sissoko started to make those direct runs which can trouble defenders. Ndombele and Winks began to get a foot on the ball in midfield. Still, they could not feed Harry Kane, but the game resembled a contest. Except that the combination of De Bruyne and