Match Report: Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 Manchester City (Premier League)

Manchester City failed to move within two points of league leaders Arsenal as they collapsed to another dismal defeat away to Tottenham Hotspur.

City remain winless and goalless at the new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, as Harry Kane’s record breaking goal in the first half inflicted a third straight away defeat on the Blues.

Pep Guardiola’s side started the match on a dominant note but a mistake from Rodri gifted Kane an opportunity to score a landmark goal in the 15th minute.

The Spaniard delayed his pass to Rico Lewis, forcing the youngster into a losing battle against a charging Hojbjerg.

The latter won the possession at the edge of the box and moved the ball into the way of Kane as the England striker fired the ball past Ederson into the bottom-left corner, scoring his 267th goal for Tottenham – the most in the club’s history.

The goal looked eerily similar to the first goal City conceded against Spurs at Etihad. That match ended with a 4-2 scoreline in the hosts’ favour, but Tottenham were not going to make the same mistake again.

Kane’s goal instantly changed the game’s dynamics as City started to struggle despite ruling the possession. Jack Grealish and Nathan Ake played huge roles in keeping all Spurs counter-attacks in check as City scrapped to half-time.

The defending champions came out in the second half having made no changes, although the hour mark saw Kevin De Bruyne replace Riyad Mahrez, whose impressive attempt at goal was cruelly denied by the underside of the crossbar.

The Belgian’s introduction relieved forwards Erling Haaland and Julian Alvarez, who both failed to make any significant impact on the game.

As City went in pursuit of an equaliser, Ederson made a decent save to deny Son Heung-min from doubling the lead for the hosts.

In the final minutes of the clash, Cristian Romero was sent off for a second bookable offence after the Spurs defender cynically brought down a slaloming Jack Grealish.

Despite being reduced to ten-men, Tottenham held out for the victory, as Kane became the third-ever player to score 200 goals in the Premier League.

City have still never won a match at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and could see local rivals Manchester United move level on points with them in midweek.

The Blues will now turn their attention towards Aston Villa next Sunday, but will be undoubtedly frustrated after failing to capitalise on Arsenal’s loss to Everton.