Aoba Fujino’s first WSL goal earned City all three points at the Gaughan Group Stadium.
The Blues had taken the lead through Vivianne Miedema’s early header, but Spurs drew level before the break when Beth England fired home.
MATCH REPORT: SPURS 1-2 CITY
City continued to press for the winner, and it would eventually arrive with 12 to play when Fujino combined with her Japan team-mate Yui Hasegawa.
Cutting inside on her left foot, the winger smashed a vicious drive into the top corner of the Spurs net to seal an important victory.
The Blues could have won by a bigger margin with Ashleigh Neville clearing off the line from Miedema, plus Jess Park and Fujino both going close late on.
But City had already done enough to get an important three points and kickstart a busy March schedule with a win.