Manchester City moved back into the Premier League's top four with a 1-0 win away at Tottenham on Wednesday. Pep Guardiola's men showed a stubbornness and resilience not seen for much of this season to grind out the victory having failed to put the game beyond their dogged hosts.
With only 12 minutes on the clock, City went in front. A sweeping move saw play shifted to Jeremy Doku on the left, and his deflected cutback found Erling Haaland totally unmarked to tap in from close range.
Doku nearly had a goal for himself soon after when he beat several Spurs defenders before letting fly from 20 yards, only for the long arms of goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario to deny him. City ought to have gone two up when Doku's next teasing cross found Savinho free at the far post, but he bounced his shot over the crossbar, while Haaland had an effort stopped by Vicario seconds later.
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Just after the break, Tottenham should have been level. Pedro Porro's cross evaded every City defender to find Wilson Odobert at the far post, but the Frenchman was stretching and unable to turn the ball home. City should then have been punished when Savinho lost the ball cheaply on the wing and Spurs broke at pace, only for Matheus Nunes to recover and stop Mathys Tel from tapping in deep inside the box.
Ederson was continually proving to be the man between Tottenham and an equaliser, with a low save to keep out Son Heung-min late on the pick of his showreel for the evening. The visitors, meanwhile, were convinced they had added a second deep into added time, but Haaland's strike was initially ruled out for handball in the build-up when he was trying to shield the ball away from Archie Gray and Kevin Danso.
With one final chance, Spurs thought they had equalised. Porro's cross was nodded on by Son and into Pape Matar Sarr, whose header ballooned over the bar as City held on for a narrow win.