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Tottenham 3-1 Man City
Hello, and welcome to this afternoon’s liveblog. Here are the teams:
Tottenham: Lloris, Walker, Dawson, Vertonghen, Assou-Ekotto, Sigurdsson, Dembele, Parker, Bale, Dempsey, Adebayor. Subs: Friedel, Huddlestone, Naughton, Defoe, Holtby, Livermore, Caulker.
Man City: Hart, Zabaleta, Kompany, Nastasic, Clichy, Toure, Barry, Milner, Tevez, Nasri, Dzeko. Subs: Pantilimon, Lescott, Sinclair, Kolarov, Javi Garcia, Aguero, Kolo Toure.
Should be an interesting day ahead. If City lose, then United can win the title on Monday.
Moreover, Spurs will be desperate for a win to maintain their push for a top-four finish.
We’re underway…
Tottenham look up for this game.
They’ve chased City relentlessly from the start, and Bale’s just had his first pot shot of the afternoon, which Hart saves relatively comfortably.
GOAL FOR MAN CITY!
Tottenham 0-1 Man City: Tevez plays a clever through ball that catches Assou Ekotto sleeping, and Milner’s cross then finds Nasri, who slots it into the corner of the net (5 mins).
It’s a poor goal for Spurs to concede, but also highlights City’s ruthless efficiency in attack.
Nasri is lucky to escape a booking at the very least.
He produces the type of high and late challenge that would have led a harsher referee to send him off.
Tottenham have looked short of confidence since the concession of that early goal.
They’ve still had plenty of possession, though have yet to threaten, with City currently looking comfortable.
A clever pass from Dempsey finds the onrushing Walker through on goal.
However, Hart does well to leave his goalline early and smother the ball.
City are inches away from doubling their lead.
Tevez plays another intelligent through pass, and Nasri evades the despairing lunge of Dawson and toe-pokes it just wide.
Of the two sides, the visitors look far more clinical in attack.
Tottenham look short of ideas in the final third, with even Gareth Bale having a peripheral influence.
Every time they come up against the brick wall that is City’s defence, they invariably end up having to pass it back into their own half.
City’s foul count must be fairly high at this stage, as another player is penalised.
They could almost be accused of fouling as a deliberate tactic, such is the frequency of their infringements.
Dempsey is unmarked at a corner, but his header goes narrowly over.
That’s probably the closest Spurs have come to scoring so far.
HALF-TIME: TOTTENHAM 0-1 MANCHESTER CITY
Half-time, and City deservedly lead by a goal.
The visitors have been far more inventive in attack, and could have added to their tally on a few occasions.
Save the odd half-chance, Roberto Mancini’s men have defended impeccably as well, however they may feel they’ll need to attack with more conviction in the second period to consolidate their lead.
Tottenham, meanwhile, have struggled to break their opponents down.
They’re not getting much joy attempting to pass their way through a crowded central area, with Bale largely isolated due to the numerous bodies around him.
They badly miss the width provided by Aaron Lennon, who, unfortunately for them, is unavailable.
Meanwhile, in the Sky studios…
The second half has begun…
Assou-Ekotto takes a risk with a two-footed lunge on Zabaleta.
He actually gets the ball, but is subsequently booked, probably correctly, for dangerous play.
It’s been a fairly uneventful start to the second half. Tottenham have adopted a more attacking formation, with Dempsey playing in a more advanced role.
Nonetheless, it hasn’t had much effect, and Jermain Defoe is getting ready to come on.
Tottenham win a free-kick, but Bale blasts it disappointingly wide.
Questions will inevitably be asked about the Welshman’s fitness if he continues to play in this manner.
Spurs substitution and it’s not Defoe: Huddlestone replaces Parker and Holtby comes on for Sigurdsson.
Huddlestone plays Bale through on goal, but the linesman raises his flag.
The Welshman in fact looked just onside judging by replays.
The substitutions have improved Tottenham.
They now have more creativity in midfield, thanks to the presence of Holtby and in particular, Huddlestone.
Defoe has replaced the ineffectual Adebayor, amid a rousing reception from the Spurs fans.
GOAL FOR TOTTENHAM!
Tottenham 1-1 Man City: Walker plays it out to Bale, and the Welshman produces a superb cross with the outside of his foot allowing Clint Dempsey to beat the offside trap and slide the ball home (75 mins).
Spurs’ subs have made a difference and the goal is probably just about deserved on the balance of play.
GOAL FOR TOTTENHAM!
Tottenham 3-1 Man City: Two goals in quick succession for Spurs. Firstly, Holtby plays through Defoe and he finishes sublimely from a tight angle (79 mins).
Then, Huddlestone plays another intelligent pass for Bale, and the Welshman chips it over Hart to make it 3-1 (82 mins).
Incredible turnaround!
Two different perspectives…
FULL-TIME: TOTTENHAM 3-1 MAN CITY
So Tottenham secure a victory that looked improbable for much of the game.
There was no denying that the substitutions made a big difference, while Gareth Bale deservedly won Man of the Match for the integral role he played in the comeback.
City, on the other hand, will be hugely disappointed by the manner of the loss.
Their defeat means they’ve handed the initiative to United, who can now win the title on Monday.
They simply had no answer to the alterations made by their opponents, and looked unusually inept at the back owing to the relentless pressure they were under.
Right, that’s all from me. Thanks for reading and commenting.
We’ll be back shortly for a liveblog of the Liverpool v Chelsea game.
