Five Things We Learned: Manchester City 4-2 Tottenham (Premier League)

A stunning Manchester City comeback rescued three points that had seemed long-gone, as Riyad Mahrez turned on the style to drag the home side to victory against Spurs.

A relatively promising first-half ended in disgrace, as a crumbling Manchester City defence conceded twice in just a few minutes. Dejan Kulusevski pounced on a loose pass to open the scoring, before a mess at the back allowed Emerson Royal to claim a rare goal.

There was frustration when an unchanged City XI came back out for the second-half, but it was hard to believe the Etihad Stadium crowd were watching the same players.

A quick-fire pair of goals from Julian Alvarez and Erling Haaland drew the home side level, and the stadium erupted when the superb Riyad Mahrez smashed in a third just after the hour mark. On the break late on, the Algerian bagged his second to seal a victory that had seemed almost impossible just an hour earlier.

The three points keeps Manchester City’s title challenge alive, but there will be no illusions that there’s still plenty of work to be done if the season is to be salvaged. For now, there’s reason to be optimistic, and the horror of the first half can be forgotten like a bad dream.

Here’s what we learned from a crazy night at the Etihad!

Riyad Mahrez is The Man

The first player who deserves a shoutout is undoubtedly Riyad Mahrez.

The Algerian has been coming back into form since Christmas, but against Spurs he treated us to one of his finest games in a Manchester City shirt, and one of the best individual performances of the Pep Guardiola era full-stop.

Instrumental in the goal that ignited the comeback, the winger was a livewire from the first moment of the second-half. His header back to Erling Haaland for the equaliser was genius, both in vision and execution.

And the goal that turned the game on its head… Mahrez can dribble and he can finish, but when he gets both right at the same time, it’s gold dust. In the final minutes, when City were hanging on, it was Riyad Mahrez who pounced on a bad mistake to wrap the game up.

I’ve been one of his staunchest critics this season and I maintain that he’s been well below his best; Thursday night was a reminder of how good he can be. That is, to say, one of the best in the world.

Riyad @Mahrez22 vs Tottenham:

2 Goals
1 Assist
78 Touches
39 Accurate Passes
84.8% Pass Accuracy
5 Ground Duels Won
3 Key Passes
3 Accurate Crosses
2 Shots On Target
1 Tackle pic.twitter.com/Z8zzFloxUa

— City Xtra (@City_Xtra) January 19, 2023

Julian Alvarez needs to keep his place

How do you reignite a once-great attack that’s been struggling to score for weeks? The answer may well be starting Julian Alvarez alongside the talismanic Erling Haaland.

It’s a rare thing to see a striker with a faultless work-rate, who also has the technical qualities to slot into a team like Manchester City. But we’ve found one and it would be foolish to let him rot on the bench.

With his constant pressing and link-up play, Julian Alvarez was a key reason City were able to rattle Spurs in the second half and turn the game on its head. His goal threat was on full display, too, as he put himself in the right position to pounce and score at a vital moment.

If there’s a way we can consistently play the pair together, Pep Guardiola needs to give it a proper go.

Rico Lewis is ready NOW

This shouldn’t still be a debate, but Rico Lewis is something really special.

The 18-year-old has now earned half a dozen starts for Manchester City, including against Liverpool, Chelsea and Spurs. Not only has he never let us down, the academy product has been one of the outstanding players in almost every appearance.

That was evident again against Spurs, where, despite being clearly targeted by the likes of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Rico Lewis was once again among those to stand up and be counted.

He looks comfortable with the ball at his feet, can step into midfield and never shies away from a tackle. Kyle Walker still has an important role to play, but it’s clear by now that Lewis can be the future of the right-back position at this club. He’s that good.

Erling Haaland’s ‘drought’ is over, and it’s easy to see why

Erling Haaland had only gone a couple of games without scoring before the Spurs match, but it’s true that by his lofty standards that can be considered a drought. And yet it’s hard to say the Norwegian has even been playing badly. The service had dried up and Haaland’s runs were largely being ignored.

Against Spurs, particularly after the break, it was an enormous relief to see that change. This is a striker who will always thrive on fast, direct football, especially on the counter-attack. The striker powered in a header to equalise and could have scored more.

It feels now like we can get back to wondering when, rather than if, he’ll break the Premier League record for most goals in a season. Good days.

Could this be the turning point?

It’s been a rough few weeks for Manchester City, and at the break against Spurs, the side looked to be heading for yet another humiliating defeat. That stunning second half was beyond the wildest dreams of a fanbase who had barely seen a shot on target for several weeks.

The question now is how City build on the result. Can the Blues push on, banish the demons that have plagued them in recent weeks and turn this title chase into a race again? It’s hard not to think that it’ll hinge on how Pep Guardiola can adjust tonight’s tactical set-up to include the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, Phil Foden and Joao Cancelo.

Our first clues will come in the first half against Wolves on Sunday afternoon, without a doubt. It would be premature to say that Manchester City’s bad patch is over yet, but for now, having just witnessed the best half of football the Etihad had seen in a very long time, I think we can take a few days to celebrate.