FROM TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR STADIUM – Manchester City’s long run without a win or goal at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium came to an end on Friday night with a 1-0 victory in the FA Cup fourth round.
A rather limp and lifeless performance from both sides was settled late on, with City scoring a goal in this part of north London for the first time since the new ground was opened in 2019.
Ange Postecoglou’s men were able to welcome back James Maddison from the bench but ultimately could not save the club’s domestic trophy drought from extending into another year.
How the game unfolded
City thought they had scored their first ever goal at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium when Oscar Bobb tapped in from close range after Guglielmo Vicario spilled a shot from Julian Alvarez, only for the offside flag to go up and a lengthy VAR check to spare Spurs’ blushes early doors.
That was as good as it got in the first half, with City suffocating Spurs and restricting their hosts to zero shots in the opening 45 minutes.
After the restart, City spurned another glorious chance to go ahead. Bobb’s deep cross evaded every Tottenham defender and found Alvarez, but his shot was blocked behind by a last-ditch Micky van de Ven challenge.
City were afforded a late opportunity when Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg – who to this point was having his best performance of the season – sliced a clearance straight into the path of Bernardo Silva, but the Portuguese shot straight at Vicario.
Seconds later, Hojbjerg was let off the hook for giving away possession in his own box again, this time spared by Kevin De Bruyne somehow firing wide.
Jeremy Doku then brought a low save out of Vicario on the break as City pushed forward in search of a late winner.
With two minutes remaining, City grabbed their first ever winner at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. De Bruyne’s corner flew close to Vicario, whose punch away was meek having been challenged by Ruben Dias, and Nathan Ake was on hand to nudge the loose ball over the line.
GK: Guglielmo Vicario – 7/10 – Bailed Tottenham out with a few huge saves, as is becoming the norm around these parts. Perhaps unlucky not to have had a foul ruled in his favour for City’s winner.
RB: Pedro Porro – 6/10 – Unable to pick out the forwards with his trademark passing and crossing but was at least solid defensively.
CB: Cristian Romero – 6/10 – Fortunate not to have been punished for acting a little too relaxed on the ball and aggressive off it, but overall had a decent game.
CB: Micky van de Ven – 7/10 – Tottenham desperately needed the Dutchman’s insane recovery pace in order to snuff out a number of City attacks.
LB: Destiny Udogie – 7/10 – Slipped leading up to the early offside goal but was otherwise nearly flawless from there on in.
CM: Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg – 5/10 – One of the game’s better performers for 80 minutes but his dreadful absence of composure late on threatened to cost Tottenham.
CM: Rodrigo Bentancur – 6/10 – Swept up well but lacked his usual incisiveness in possession.
RM: Brennan Johnson – 5/10 – Tried his best to get round the outside of the clumsy Gvardiol but was only successful on a couple of occasions.
AM: Dejan Kulusevski – 5/10 – A series of loose touches and dribbles that went on just a little too long slowed down Tottenham attacks.
LM: Timo Werner – 6/10 – So often made great runs in behind, so often he wasn’t found. Worked hard for the cause and easy to see why Postecoglou was keen to bring him in.
CF: Richarlison – 5/10 – Failed to sufficiently hold up the ball enough or create danger.
Substitutes
SUB: James Maddison (73′ for Bentancur) – 5/10
SUB: Oliver Skipp (73′ for Johnson) – 5/10
SUB: Dane Scarlett (90′ for Hojbjerg) – N/A
Subs not used: Fraser Forster (GK), Emerson Royal, Radu Dragusin, Ben Davies, Yago Santiago, Bryan Gil
Manager
Ange Postecoglou – 5/10 – Tottenham tried to go toe-to-toe with the best team in the land. It made for a drab encounter.
GK: Stefan Ortega – 6/10 – Didn’t have too much to do in way of shot-stopping but was quick off his line.
RB: Kyle Walker – 7/10 – Like Van de Ven was able to use his extraordinary quickness to cover ground and plug defensive gaps.
CB: Ruben Dias – 7/10 – Monstrous in his silencing of Richarlison. Hardly troubled at all.
CB: Nathan Ake – 8/10 – Excellent in both boxes and that proved to be the difference on the night.
LB: Josko Gvardiol – 6/10 – Guardiola was barking instructions at the Croatian all night, seemingly annoyed at his positioning and lack of bite.
DM: Rodri – 7/10 – Makes football look so, so easy. Riled up every now and then but fought well for his side.
CM: Bernardo Silva – 6/10 – Somehow got away with several cynical fouls. Excellent in spurts but couldn’t take the game by the scruff of the neck on his own.
CM: Mateo Kovacic – 7/10 – Came alive whenever there was a lull, bursting through midfield with trademark majesty.
RW: Phil Foden – 5/10 – Faded into the background and it was hard to tell he was on the pitch at some points.
CF: Julian Alvarez – 5/10 – Twice guilty of missing opportunities at point-blank range. Replaced by De Bruyne midway through the second half.
LW: Oscar Bobb – 6/10 – Man City’s liveliest attacker in his 65 minutes but the bar wasn’t considerably high. Got in the right areas but wasn’t always picked out.
Substitutes
SUB: Jeremy Doku (65′ for Bobb) – 6/10
SUB: Kevin De Bruyne (65′ for Alvarez) – 7/10
Subs not used: Ederson (GK), Rico Lewis, John Stones, Sergio Gomez, Mahamadou Susoho, Matheus Nunes, Jack Grealish
Manager
Pep Guardiola – 6/10 – City weren’t at their best but they kept up their relentlessness in the late stages and were rewarded with a goal.
Player of the match – Nathan Ake (Manchester City)
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