(Premier League 2023/2024): Highlights Tottenham - Man City

It's a fixture which has been looming large ever since it was postponed over a month ago after the Blues qualified for the FA Cup semi-final, but tonight they are at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium knowing that it is simply imperative that they have to win to keep the defence of the title in their control. Poirier tries to spread the play, Vardyl isn't going to get there, Brennan Johnson will, he's in the right wing position getting to the edge of the area and plays a good ball inside as well and the shot is tipped over well to deny Bentancur by Ederson, really good football up by Spurs and that's a good extension of the arm by Ederson to keep it at nil-nil. They've lost the ball playing out from the back, De Bruyne on towards Haaland, Rodri gets to a sort of half clearance and then there's a mistake and Foden brilliant save by Vicario, terrible play from Spurs, lost the ball, slice clearance, sat up for a volley, Foden hit it goal bound, Vicario made the save. Well what an opportunity, it's that little mistake when De Bruyne gets into the positions, tries to fizz the ball into Haaland and the ricochets that goes into the sky, Hojbjerg needs to be more composed, tries to hook it away, really poor clearance. Moving the ball down the left through Guardiola, Guardiola switches it to the opposite side to Bernardo Silva on the edge of the area, Bernardo Silva inside the penalty area, goes back to Walker, Walker's ball over the top, oh Guardiola, he side-footed it over the bar, I'm not suggesting for a second that was an easy chance but it was a chance and Guardiola couldn't quite get over the side foot volley. So one minute of the first half remaining, Spurs nil, City nil in this tense evening here in North London. Ball is with the right back Pedro Porro, one back by City though and Haaland have got it and now Rodri's got it and Rodri loses it but Bernardo Silva picks it up on the edge of the final third, De Bruyne into the gap, Foden crossed the face of the goal and hit by Haaland and then Bernardo Silva and headed away by Droguchin who punches the air as if he'd scored a goal and I guess in the context of this game it might well feel like it. And De Bruyne on the swerve, great save for Cario, Spurs playing out from the back made a horrible mess of it, it broke for De Bruyne, he swerved and hit it and Vicario maybe just a little too close to him was able to parry it away. Pedro Porro plays it down the line towards Sarr, it's a good ball, Diaz comes towards Sarr, Sarr the false nine keeps on coming, gets towards the final third and it goes to Johnson, Johnson's ball in low, Son at the near and Edison blocked him, didn't look as though Son should get to it but he did and then Edison just blocked him as he was trying to clip it over the top, sort of a half chance but maybe a big chance in the context of the game. The ball is now with Bentancur, he plays the ball up and it was well controlled by Madison, Foden then comes in on it and Romero can't tackle it and Foden sprints away and he gets away from Bentancur and the cross comes in towards Haaland, it's a buff for both Haaland and De Bruyne but Bernardo Silva will keep it alive on the edge of the penalty area, on it goes to De Bruyne, across the face of the goal Erling Haaland, 1-0 City, 1-0 to the Blues, must win night, who do they turn to? The big man, Spurs nil, City won, De Bruyne assist, Haaland goal, they do it time and time again and they've done it when we needed it most. The ball is with Brennan Johnson and now it's Pedro Parra, on it goes to Pape Sarr, Pedro Parra loses it though to Rodri, sorry Michael continue, you know it wasn't his fault that his contribution was significant and De Bruyne is down in agony, that doesn't look good at all, Michael this does not look good for KDB. Not one bit, there's something wrong, something's gone, it wasn't a deal of contact but I just think Kevin De Bruyne has something going on, a challenge, Pape Sarr trying to get a look, I just think Kevin De Bruyne was somewhere in this hamstring, something's gone mate. On it goes to Kulosevsky, diagonal ball in and Edison gets there and he's then collided with, he is collided with by Romero, Romero's gone in on Edison, the City players are furious, Edison has been absolutely polaxed by Romero. Doku is coming on and so too Ortega, final instructions from Peck Guardiola, let's see who's coming off, well we obviously we know Edison, yeah so De Bruyne and Edison off, Pape Sarr on the edge of the Spurs area, he helps it on to Pedro Porro, Pedro Porro darts ball, on it goes into the possession of Brennan Johnson, Johnson getting into the final third, Guardiola goes with him, ball into Kulosevsky, good tackle by Rodri and then Kulosevsky and then Ortega makes his first save, spreads himself wide, blocks the shot from Kulosevsky and holds on to the rebound, ball goes all the way through and Diaz loses it to Kulosevsky and Ortega makes the save, well what happened there, City looking for an offside flag, I don't know what they were thinking. Walker plays it into the gap for Foden and on it goes, he wants the ball back Foden but instead it's come inside to Guardiola and then Kovacic and Rodri and Rodri backwards to the halfway line to Akanji and Akanji under pressure and he's lost the ball and Son's through, big moment, a great save by Ortega, one-on-one, City's nemesis and Son couldn't get it beyond Ortega, he came on as a substitute for Edison and has just made one of the biggest saves of the season, Michael Brown. Everyone keeps telling me and I've seen it, it's one-on-one situations, shot stopping can be sublime and it needed to be, what a save, what a big moment, well I'll be honest with you Michael, I thought that was one-one, I think everyone thought it was one-one, Pep Guardiola thought it was one-one, Walker throws it long, headed on by Haaland, Foden, ball over the top to Doku, Doku's chasing, Doku will get to it, on the edge of the area, Doku, oh he's brought down, penalty, City penalty, Doku brought down by Romero, City penalty. It looked at once it got swung out wide from Phil Foden, I thought he's gonna get there first, I could see the race is happening, then with that space Jeremy Doku's got that late flip and it's the second one that does him. So wherever you are, wherever you're listening, wherever you're watching, hold your breath, Erling Haaland scores! Spurs nil, City two, Erling Haaland makes it two, City have their hands on the title again. What about that, he doesn't just take the penalty, dispatches it into the top corner, delirious City supporters and players, what a moment, what a week of football, the big man delivers yet again, there's that whistle Ali, what a moment, what a moment indeed, City's first ever Premier League goal at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium was now followed by their first ever victory at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the Premier League and they have one hand on the Premier League trophy and a place in history beckons, Tottenham nil, City two.