For 45 minutes, it was tempting to wonder where this version of Manchester City had been hiding? They were energetic and incisive, threatening to tear Tottenham apart. Erling Haaland was back in the line-up after a knee injury and his 20th goal of the Premier League season – and 28th overall – was scant reward for their control.
City’s previous visit to this stadium had brought a Carabao Cup exit and it is remarkable to consider how they have fared since then. Before kick-off here and taking in that defeat, their record showed 14 losses in 27 matches in all competitions. They looked set to make a more coherent statement.
Then the second half happened and we were reminded of why City have sunk so far. The conviction evaporated in the face of Spurs showing plenty of it themselves and an equaliser looked on. Ange Postecoglou’s team were a different entity, pressing hard and they had the chances.
They could not get one to go in, the big one coming right at the end – 98 minutes on the clock, four more than the board had shown. That was because of a lengthy VAR check for what would have been 2-0 for City, Haaland eventually denied a second goal for handball.
Spurs went straight up the other end and when Pedro Porro crossed and the ball was flicked on, there was the substitute, Pape Sarr. He could not get his body into position and he sent the header high. City could exhale.
City were in the mood at the outset. They bristled with attacking intent, Guardiola starting Omar Marmoush up alongside Haaland. Jérémy Doku and Savinho brought their threat from wide areas. All four were involved in the breakthrough goal and it had been coming, Haaland having swiped at a chance moments earlier from a Matheus Nunes pull-back.
Marmoush has looked the part since his arrival from Eintracht Frankfurt, his touches and sharp turns easy on the eye. There was more from him here. He got City moving when he rolled away from Kevin Danso and Savinho found Haaland, who went left to Doku. Haaland made for the middle and when Doku, having teased Porro – not for the last time – crossed low, the ball deflected and fell for the City No 9. He was close in. It was simple.
Did Postecoglou have one eye on the first leg of next Thursday’s Europa League last-16 tie at AZ Alkmaar? He started with Son Heung-min and Dejan Kulusevski on the bench; attackers with good scoring records against City. They have played an awful lot of football lately.
City were dominant in the first half. They poured forward at pace and from all angles. When Nunes stepped up from right-back into midfield alongside Mateo Kovacic, it allowed Nico González to push higher in a left central position. Outside him, Doku was electric. The Belgian had served notice of his intent in the early running, giving Porro a headstart in a race for the ball, getting there and winning the shoulder-to-shoulder challenge. The cross for Haaland came to nothing but he kept on coming, chills down spines in the South Stand when he ran with the ball.
Doku jinked inside before working Guglielmo Vicario while he teed up Savinho for a glorious chance; his teammate’s first-time finish was high and wasteful. There was also the moment on the half-hour when he set up Haaland, who shot too close to Vicario. It was a big chance. Savinho blazed into space up the right, cut inside and saw Danso block his shot. The game could have been over well before the interval.
There were boos from the home fans upon the half-time whistle. It is virtually a tradition when their team is behind. They had seen precious little, save for a looping Danso header that Ederson tipped over. From the corner, James Maddison tried to work it short only for Doku to intercept and set off yet again. Nunes overhit the final pass with Marmoush and Haaland free to his left. It was another let-off for Spurs.
Spurs brought greater intensity upon the second-half restart and the crowd responded. Maddison had flickered on the ball in the first period. Now he drove his team, although he was booked for a horrible tactical foul; he practically rugby-tackled Savinho to stop the break.
When Porro whipped over a cross after some Maddison promptings, Wilson Odobert could not stretch enough at the far post. Spurs had other moments, half-chances, including for Danso and Rodrigo Bentancur on set pieces. And some clearer ones. The transformation was remarkable. Now it was Spurs pouring forward. City wobbled. When Destiny Udogie robbed Savinho and raced upfield, he was so close to setting up Mathys Tel. Postecoglou made changes, Son and Dejan Kulusevski among those to come on – the latter playing in the No 9 role for a time. Djed Spence also came on. He set up another replacement, Sarr, who could not finish.
Spurs had a huge chance when the substitute, Brennan Johnson, got away up the right to cross for Son, whose shot was well saved by Ederson. The additional minutes brought drama but nothing for the home team.