Tottenham Hotspur handed a deafening blow to Manchester City's title chances after a brace from James Maddison, a blasting strike from Pedro Porro, and a stoppage-time tap in from Brennan Johnson gave the visitors a 4-0 victory in their Premier League clash at the Etihad.
Entering the blockbuster contest, City were trailing league leaders Liverpool by five points, and needed to ensure that they weren't susceptible to trailing by as many as eight points with their title rivals playing on Sunday. On the other hand, Spurs were desperate to come away from Manchester with at least a point, having handed Ipswich Town their first win of the season, being defeated 2-1 at home in their final league game before the international break.
City started the contest the brighter of the two sides, with a glorious opportunity falling to Erling Haaland inside five minutes, but he couldn't get the shot off quickly enough, allowing Davies to get across. The Norwegian had a second effort to put his side ahead early, but his shot was saved by Guglielmo Vicario's outstretched legs.
Despite struggling to get on the ball, and amassing just 32 percent possession at that stage of the match, it was Spurs midfielder Maddison - who was celebrating his 28th birthday - who opened the scoring in the 13th minute, after a delicious looping cross over the defender played in by Dejan Kulusevski in what was their first phase of play inside City's half.
After conceding, City looked dejected, and a mistake from Josko Gvardiol saw Spurs advancing forward again, with some neat one-two play between Son Heung-Min and Maddison, with the latter able to clip the ball over a grounded Ederson to double the visitors' lead inside 20 minutes.
City did begin to ramp up the pressure, but they were unable to claw one back before the half-time whistle.
It didn't take long in the second-half for Spurs to net their third, with Dominic Solanke - who found himself on the touchline after the cross into the box from Kulusevski dragged him wide - cutting it back for Pedro Porro to blast home and make it three to the visitors, leaving those in attendance at the Etihad shell-shocked about what was unfolding before them.
Haaland thought he had clawed one back on the hour mark, but his effort on goal skidded off the top of the bar, adding to the frustrations of both the players and the crowd.
Spurs rubbed salt in the wounds of City after Timo Werner - who had just come on the pitch - blazed past Kyle Walker to put in a cross for Brennan Johnson to latch onto and tap home into an empty net, sealing a 4-0 victory for the Lilywhites.
With their fifth defeat in a row in all competitions, City could trail main title challengers Liverpool by eight points by the time the weekend comes to a close. For Spurs, three deserved points sees them rise from 11th to sixth in the table.
Match Highlights
Man City Player Ratings
GK - Ederson - 6/10
Didn't look too comfortable when Spurs went on the attack, preferring to punch the ball out on occasions. There was little he could do about the first goal, though an argument could be made that he went to ground too early for Spurs' second.
RB - Kyle Walker - 5/10
The first-half frustrations were visible on his face, and while he was commanding both aerially, and in ground duels, he struggled to contain Udogie and Son's one-two punch down the left flank.
CB - John Stones - 6/10
Looked relatively stout in his defending, having made a few interceptions and clearances, though it wasn't enough to keep Spurs from scoring. Was subbed off at half-time.
CB - Manuel Akanji - 6/10
Saw a lot of the ball, particularly in the first half, and was commanding aerially against Solanke. But his performance didn't stand out as anything more than average.
LB - Josko Gvardiol - 4/10
Having been one of City's bright sparks since his arrival, he looked lost having to defend up against Kulusevski, with the Spurs winger looking unstoppable for much of the contest. One of his poorest performances in City blue.
CM - Rico Lewis - 6/10
Completed 98 percent of his passes, and wasn't afraid to drive forward in a midfield role, while also willing to track back when necessary.
CM - Ilkay Gundogan - 6/10
Gundogan wasn't bad at all. It was just that Spurs' midfield was just that good. A fairly quiet performance.
CM - Bernardo Silva - 7/10
One of City's best players on the night, completing over 95 percent of his passes, playing in a handful of key passes, and always looking to put his teammates in where he found success with his crosses and long balls.
RW - Savinho - 5/10
Very quiet on the left-hand side of City's attack, struggling to control balls in the Manchester rain. Did create a big chance, though it didn't amount to a goal for the side.
ST - Erling Haaland - 5/10
Had a plethora of chances, but just couldn't find the back of the net, with his closest chance coming in the second half when his effort clipped and sailed over the crossbar. Another poor performance against a 'Big Six' side.
LW - Phil Foden - 7/10
If City were going to score, Foden was somehow going to be involved. Looked lively at times, and had a few chances on goal, though fell short of hitting the target.
Sub - Nathan Ake - 6/10
Came on at the half to replace John Stones in central defence. Dealt with Solanke well, but wasn't exactly an upgrade on Stones.
Sub - Kevin De Bruyne - 6/10
So often, the Belgian has been City's saviour, but even he couldn't rally his side back into the contest. He did pick up a booking after he tried to pull Sarr up after fouling him.
Sub - Jack Grealish - 7/10
Looked a threat in the 15 minutes that he was on the pitch, making two key passes, and taking on his defenders. Could have been a different scoreline had he seen more game time.
Tottenham Player Ratings
GK - Guglielmo Vicario - 8/10
Made some excellent stops to keep City out in the first half, despite them laying it on thick in the first 10 minutes of the game when it was 0-0. Dealt with the City pressure excellently in the second-half, and didn't look troubled on set-pieces.
RB - Pedro Porro - 7/10
Put his keeper in a bit of bother after his header back towards goal was short, but fortunately, nothing materialised from it. Made quite a few clearances and defended very well, particularly in the second half, to keep City out. Scored Spurs' third with an emphatic whip on goal.
CB - Radu Dragusin - 8/10
One of his better performances in a Spurs shirt, and a good way to answer the criticism he received leading into the international break.
CB - Ben Davies - 8/10
Filling in for the injured Cristian Romero was a huge ask, but the Welshman slotted in well and looked the most commanding of Spurs' two central defenders. Set the tone early by recovering to block Haaland's first strike on goal, and made some good clearances.
LB - Destiny Udogie - 7/10
Not short of energy, bursting forward down the left flank. His link-up play with Son kept the City defenders on their toes. Did struggle with losing possession at times.
CM - Pape Matar Sarr - 8/10
Very commanding in midfield, completing passes through City's lines with ease, whilst also offering defensive support to those behind him. A very convincing performance from the Senegalese international, who continues to look more confident when he steps out onto the pitch.
CM - Yves Bissouma - 7/10
Was booked inside 15 seconds after a challenge from behind on Foden, but didn't let that dictate how he would play the game. Accurate in his passing, and was given more freedom to roam forward with Sarr alongside him taking over the defensive duties vacated by the suspended Rodrigo Bentancur.
CM - James Maddison - 9/10
Scored the opener with a neat finish after the pass was put on a plate for him, but it was his effort to make the run forward that gave Kulusevski an outlet to put the ball in. His second goal was even better, with a nice dink over the keeper. A brace for the birthday boy.
RW - Heung-Min Son - 8/10
Had a curling effort saved by Ederson's fingertips, but always looked threatening going forward. His reverse pass into the path of Maddison for his second of the game was sublime. Had a chance to hit a ball first time, but took too long to make up his mind, and the opportunity vanished in a flash.
ST - Dominic Solanke - 7/10
With so much attacking play around him, the centre-forward struggled to get as involved in the game as he perhaps would have wanted. But he did offer bodies going forward and made the right runs into good areas to give the team striking options.
LW - Dejan Kulusevski - 8/10
Looked unplayable at times as he glided past the City defenders as if he had a magnet in his boots to stick with the ball. His delivery into Maddison to create the opener was world-class. There's just something about playing at the Etihad for the Swede. Top performance from a top player.
Sub - Brennan Johnson - 6/10
Received 30 minutes of game time, but it was a very quiet night in Manchester for the Welsh winger, barely getting involved in the play - that was until he rubbed salt in the wounds of City, scoring a tap-in in stoppage time.
Sub - Timo Werner - 6/10
Was a second-half stoppage-time substitution, but that didn't stop him from beating Kyle Walker for pace and putting a peach of a ball across the face of the goal for Johnson to tap in.
Sub - Djed Spence - N/A
Second-half stoppage-time substitution.
Sub - Lucas Bergvall - N/A
Second-half stoppage-time substitution.
Man of the Match
James Maddison (Tottenham Hotspur)
The birthday boy received two gifts in the form of assists from Kulusevski and Son. His play on the ball was sublime, orchestrating those around him to go forward, while he led by example. Off the ball, he was tenacious in his work rate, showing a desire to win the ball back at any given opportunity.
He ran the Man City defence ragged, and his brace, with his first goal coming completely against the run of play, changed the tone of the entire contest, which ultimately led to Guardiola suffering a third successive Premier League defeat for the first time, and the first time ever that a Guardiola-managed side has lost five straight matches in all competitions.