CITY HITS YET ANOTHER SPEED BUMP
FOLLOWING A HOME DEFEAT LAST WEEK, MANCHESTER CITY SUFFERS YET ANOTHER SETBACK AT THE HANDS OF TOTTENHAM
Kevin de Bruyne angled in an effort to put leaders City in front before Eric Dier equalized with a 25-yard shot slightly before half-time.
Toby Alderweireld then moved Spurs up front with a brilliant header from an Erik Lamela free-kick.
After that, Kane side-footed in when team-mate Christian Eriksen’s free-kick came back off the woodwork before Lamela slid home as the visitors chased the game.
THINGS ARE GETTING HAIRY FOR CITY
City had won five league games in succession before losing to Juventus in their opening Champions League match of the season 11 days ago.
Defeat by the Italian champions appears to have knocked them out of their stride, and Manuel Pellegrini’s side have now lost three of their past four matches.
Injuries to key players have not helped, with goalkeeper Joe Hart on the bench at Spurs because of a back injury which meant he only trained for one day before the game.
Caballero, his deputy, was caught out when he came for Lamela’s free-kick and allowed Alderweireld to put the hosts 2-1 up.
Like Hart, City skipper Vincent Kompany was also missing, while midfielder Toure injured a hamstring to add to Pellegrini’s problems.
PUNDIT ANALYSIS
Most were expecting yet another City victory as it can be said that the defeat West Ham was just a case of “bad luck”. Furthermore, Tottenham’s defeat by struggling rivals Arsenal would not have helped team morale much.
Former England midfielder Jermaine Jenas on Final Score: “Spurs showed real character. Harry Kane has got his goal and they’ve taken their chances. After the derby defeat by Arsenal in midweek, this is exactly what they needed.”
OFFSIDE BLUES
Both sides had cause for complaint as the assistant referees failed to spot players in offside positions for three of the goals at White Hart Lane.
De Bruyne was marginally ahead of play when he was set up by Yaya Toure before putting City in front, though it was a close call.
The decision for Tottenham’s equaliser was more clear cut. Kyle Walker was clearly offside as he ran onto the ball down the left, before Son Heung-min had a shot saved at point-blank range by Willy Caballero. De Bruyne could only clear to Dier, who scored. City centre-back Martin Demichelis was booked for his complaints.
England striker Kane then appeared to be in an offside position before latching onto the loose ball for his goal.
HEAD-TO-HEAD | ||
Ball Possession | 46% | 54% |
Shots | 15 | 22 |
Shots on Target | 8 | 8 |
Corners | 5 | 9 |
Fouls | 17 | 6 |