8.46am EDT 08:46 57 min: Ilkay Gundogan stands over the ball out on the left flank before sending a low free-kick towards the near post. It’s blocked easily and Tottenham clear their lines. 8.45am EDT 08:45 56 min: Sterling tries to get around Foyth in a sprint down the left flank and goes to ground.
57 min: Ilkay Gundogan stands over the ball out on the left flank before sending a low free-kick towards the near post. It’s blocked easily and Tottenham clear their lines.
56 min: Sterling tries to get around Foyth in a sprint down the left flank and goes to ground. He appeals for a free-kick and gets one, which I think is a fairly harsh decision.
54 min: Bernardo Silva has picked up in this second half where he left off in the first, wreaking havoc down the right flank, while occasionally winning the ball back for his team with admirable tenacity. This team he sprints down the touchline with the ball at his feet, beating several men in the process, but is thwarted in his attempt to send in a cross.
52 min: There’s a loud appeal for a penalty from the stands as Phil Foden runs into Juan Foyth while chasing a dropping ball and goes to ground. Michael Oliver makes the correct decision and waves play on.
50 min: Replays show an accidental hand-ball by Toby Alderweireld in his own penalty area as he attempted to regain his balance in a tussle with Sergio Aguero. He clearly put his hand on the ball as it rolled along the ground, but had no idea where it was at the time. It would have been a very harsh penalty to give and it’s worth noting that Aguero didn’t even appeal.
49 min: Excellent play from Kyle Walker, who beats three men as he races to the byline before pulling the ball back to Sergio Aguero. His touch lets him down but the ball drops kindly for Phil Foden in the Spurs penalty area. He snatches at his shot and ball zips well wide.
47 min: Phil Foden begins the second half in a slightly more advanced role, with Ilkay Gundogan and Fernandinho a fair bit behind him forming a two-man screen in front of the City back four.
46 min: Lucas Moura charges towards the edge of the Spurs penalty area with the ball at his feet, but runs into a two-man wall and is dispossessed before he can unleash a shot.
Second half: Manchester City 1-0 Tottenham Hotspur
46 min: As things stand, Manchester will go top of the table, with Liverpool due to face Cardiff City tomorrow afternoon. There’s a long way to go in this game however and the longer City go without adding to their tally of one goal, the more nervous and edgy you might expect them to come. Tottenham get the ball rolling for the second half with no further changes in personnel on either side.
Half-time: Manchester City 1-0 Tottenham
Peep! It’s time for the break on a hot afternoon in Manchester. City have dominated and lead by Phil Foden’s maiden Premier League goal. They have looked vulnerable, mind – Spurs have spurned four decent scoring opportunity after getting in behind the City defence. In other worrying news for City, who could really do with a second goal to ease any jitters, they have lost Kevin De Bruyne to what looks it might be a fairly serious knee injury.
Updated
43 min: Son charges through the centre leaving a trail of defenders in his wake and taking advantage of a lucky ricochet before finding his path to goal clear. Ederson saves the day for City, charging out of his goal and smothering the ball at the striker’s feet. That was an excellent save.
41 min: Lucas Moura gallops down the right flank and whips a cross into the Man City penalty area. Son was racing in to meet it, but seemed to hesitate momentarily, allowing Ederson to come of his line and claim the ball. Another warning for City. Moments later, at the other end of the pitch, Kyle Walker fires high over the ball.
39 min: It seems De Bruyne picked up that injury while attempting that shot on goal I mentioned a few moments ago. He looked thoroughly fed up as he sat on the turf and if the crestfallen expression on his face was anything to go by, I suspect we won’t be seeing him playing for City again this season.

Kevin De Bruyne of Manchester City is looks disappointed after picking up another injury. Photograph: Paul Currie/BPI/Rex/Shutterstock
Updated
38 min: Nothing comes of the corner, but there’s bad news for Manchester City for Manchester City as Kevin De Bruyne receives treatment on what looks like a knee injury before limping off. He looks gutted as he’s replaced by Fernandinho – is that his season, one punctuated with several injuries, over?
37 min: Poor handling from Gazzaniga, who needlessly concedes a corner when he should have made a straightforward catch.
35 min: Kevin De Bruyne tries to curl a shot towards the top corner from just outside the D, but his standing foot slips from under him and the ball sails high and wide.
34 min: Bernardo Silva has been irrepressible today and once again he finds himself on the edge of the Spurs area with the ball at his feet. He spanks a low drive goalwards, but it’s straight at Gazzaniga, who saves easily.
32 min: Bernardo Silva unleashes a shot from the edge of the Tottenham penalty area that’s deflected out for a corner. Again, Manchester City take it short. The ball is played across the pitch to Zinchenko, whose shot is blocked by Eric Dier. The ball goes out for a throw-in.
30 min: A nice bit of skill from Dele Alli, who nutmegs Bernardo Silva before pirouetting around him to retrieve the ball. The Portuguese winger will not like that one bit.

Dele Alli of Tottenham Hotspur controls the ball after battling for possession with Bernardo Silva of Manchester City. Photograph: Matt McNulty/Man City via Getty Images
Updated
28 min: Good scuttling and scurrying from Bernardo Silva, who wins possession and subsequently, another corner for his side. It’s taken short and Spurs get to clear their lines. Manchester City continue to dominate and are clearly in the ascendency, but Tottenham have got in behind their defence on the counter-attack on three different occasions so far in this game and are far from out it.
28 min: From the corner, Tottenham’s defence push out and Sergio Aguero is flagged for offside once the ball comes his way.
25 min: Tottenham goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga gifts Manchester City a corner with a fluffed attempt to pass the ball to a defender that results in the ball looping behind him and going wide. His effort is greeted by a raucous, sarcastic cheer from the home crowd.
22 min: Manchester city continue to dominate, but are looking vulnerable at the back. Up front on the flanks, Raheem Sterling and Bernardo Silva are giving Juan Foyth and Ben Davies all sorts of problems and Tottenham’s flat five-man defence is looking anything but comfortable.

Bernardo Silva of Manchester City runs with the ball as Spurs’ Ben Davies looks on. Photograph: Matt McNulty/Man City via Getty Images
Updated
19 min: There’s an appeal for an appeal as Bernardo Silva goes down under a Jan Vertonghen challenge just inside the Tottenham penalty area. Referee Michael Oliver is in a good position and waves play on. Replays suggest he probably should have given City a spot-kick – it was a clumsy challenge from Vertonghen, who swept Silva’s leg from under him.
19 min: Bernardo Silva curls another precise cross to the far post, where Davinson Sanchez is on hand to head clear for Tottenham.
16 min: Excellent play by Laporte, who somehow keeps up with Son as he is played into space in behind the Manchester City by a brilliant Christian Eriksen pass from deep. With City playing a very high line, Son is unleashed in acres of space, but Laporte recovers and dispossesses him on the edge of the penalty area with an excellent tackle.
14 min: A chance for Tottenham, as Christian Eriksen gets past Aymeric Laporte, shoots on goal and forces a save from Ederson, who concedes the corner. Did Laporte have a little tug on Eriksen’s shirt as he went past him in the penalty area? I think he might have, but would need to see it again to be sure. Nothing comes of the corner.

Manchester City’s Ederson saves a shot from Tottenham’s Christian Eriksen as Manchester City’s John Stones and Aymeric Laporte look on. Photograph: Jason Cairnduff/Action Images via Reuters
Updated
13 min: Phil Foden tries to play a weighted through ball in behind for Sergio Aguero to latch on to, but overcooks his pass and waves by way of apology as the ball rolls out of play for a goal kick.
11 min: City continue playing keep-ball, while Raheem Sterling takes on and beats Juan Foyth, more used to playing centre-back, with worrying ease. He’s going to need Davinson Sanchez to give him a dig out this afternoon, one suspects. Indeed, on Sky Sports, Gary Neville echoes that very sentiment. Great minds and all that …

Manchester City’s Raheem Sterling puts in a cross despite pressure from Tottenham’s Juan Foyth. Photograph: Phil Noble/Reuters
Updated
8 min: There are a few tasty challenges flying in around the pitch. Oleksandr Zinchenko is lucky to have avoided a booking and Phil Foden has just escaped a caution for a very rash challenge. City are clearly fired up for this one.
6 min: Another great start in a game between these two teams and Manchester City take the lead. From the right flank, Bernardo Silva curled an inch-perfect cross to Sergio Aguero at the far post. Eschewing the option to go for goal himself, the Argentinian cushioned a perfectly weighted header across the face of goal where Phil Foden was sprinting in to head home from a couple of feet out. Excellent play by City and that’s Foden’s first Premier League goal.
GOAL! Manchester City 1-0 Tottenham (Foden 5)
Phil Foden heads home from two feet out to open the scoring and put Manchester City ahead.

Phil Foden of Manchester City opens the scoring. Photograph: Matt McNult/Man City via Getty Images

Foden celebrates his goal. Photograph: Phil Noble/Reuters
Updated
2 min: John Stones gives the ball away in midfield and Spurs go on the counter-attack in a move that ends with Heung-min Son shooting at Ederson from a narrow angle. The goalkeeper puts the ball out for a corner, from which nothing comes. Sloppy play from Stones, there, who won’t have endeared himself to his manager by playing fast and loose like that.
2 min: City dominate the possession in the opening stages, not letting Spurs get a touch of the ball. Tottenham have lined up with three central defenders flanked by Juan Foyth and Ben Davies in wing-back roles.
Man City v Tottenham Hotspur is go!
1 min: We go again, with both teams wearing identical kit to that they donned for their most recent meeting. Manchester City’s players wear light blue shirts, white shorts and dark socks. Tottenham’s wear their navy and minty green shirts, green shorts and socks. Manchester City get the ball rolling …
Updated
Not long now: The teams are out on the pitch for the last of the pre-match niceties and kick-off is just moments away.
Some news: The PFA Player of the Year shortlist has been announced and the following six men are in the mix: Sergio Aguero (Manchester City), Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool), Eden Hazard (Chelsea), Sadio Mane (Liverpool), Bernardo Silva (Manchester City) and Raheem Sterling (Manchester City).
So, three from Manchester City, two from Liverpool and one from Chelsea. There are no representatives from Manchester United, Arsenal or Tottenham Hotspur, or indeed any other teams outside the Big Six. Virgil van Dijk is the bookies’ favourite to win, with Raheem Stirling close behind him. It’s difficult to choose between them, as both would be deserving winners.
Updated
Gary Neville speaks: Asked about the selection of Phil Foden in the Manchester City line-up, the Sky Sports pundit describes it as “an indication of faith” and says that it has got to the stage where the club “cannot hold him back”. He goes on to say that “Guardiola has reached the point where he’s realised this is his moment. He’s handed him his second Premier League start in a massive game. The feedback I’ve been getting from the club over the past few weeks is that they may as well stop having an academy if this lad doesn’t get a chance.”

Phil Foden, 18, makes his second Premier League start for Manchester City today. Photograph: Matt McNulty – Manchester City/Man City via Getty Images
A start for Phil Foden: Manchester City’s teenage midfielder makes his second Premier League start for Manchester City and is one of three changes made by Pep Guardiola. He comes in for David Silva, while John Stones replaces Vincent Kompany and Oleksandr Zinchenko starts in place of Benjamin Mendy.
Meanwhile in the Tottenham camp, Mauricio Pochettino makes five changes from the side that lined up at this stadium on Wednesday night. Hugo Lloris and Kieran Trippier are conspicuous by their absence from the match-day squad, while Danny Rose, Victor Wanyama and Moussa Sissoko are also out. Paulo Gazzaniga, Ben Davies, Davinson Sanchez, Eric Dier and Juan Foyth come in.
Manchester City v Tottenham Hotspur line-ups
Man City: Ederson, Walker, Stones, Laporte, Zinchenko, De Bruyne, Gundogan, Foden, Bernardo Silva, Aguero, Sterling.
Subs: Sane, Silva, Fernandinho, Mahrez, Otamendi, Gabriel Jesus, Muric.
Tottenham Hotspur: Gazzaniga, Alderweireld, Sanchez, Vertonghen, Foyth, Alli, Dier, Davies, Eriksen, Son, Lucas Moura.
Subs: Janssen, Rose, Wanyama, Vorm, Walker-Peters, Llorente, Skipp.
Referee: Michael Oliver (Northumberland)

Michael Oliver is in charge of maintaining order during today’s game. Photograph: Kieran McManus/BPI/REX/Shutterstock
Updated
And a pre-match Potch talk: “There’s a lot of work to do, the competition doesn’t wait and does not allow you to relax or enjoy this type of situation,” said Tottenham’s manager. “We need to be competitive on Saturday again. It is difficult to stop your mind and realise all that happened. We arrived back so late, tried to sleep a little bit, but this morning [Thursday] I started to work and prepare for the next game, assess the players and talk a lot.
“We are going to play in a different competition. City are fighting for the Premier League. It’s not because it’s Tottenham that they are going to find revenge, they are going to fight for the three points like us. We want to be in the top four for the end of the season. It’s going to be another battle.”

Mauricio Pochettino celebrates his side’s Champions League victory over Manchester City on away goals. Photograph: Marc Atkins/Getty Images
A pre-match Pep talk: ““We have to react on Saturday,” said Manchester City’s manager in the wake of his side’s defeat on Wednesday night. “But don’t think too much right now, sleep as much as possible and then we will prepare for the game. It’s tough. It’s cruel, but we have to accept it. We fought a lot, nine, 10 months for the Premier League. It’s in our hands. It’s tough, but we have to do it.”

Pep Guardiola addressing the press yesterday. Photograph: Tom Flathers/Man City via Getty Images
Premier League: Manchester City v Tottenham Hotspur
Greetings and welcome to our minute-by-minute coverage of a potentially season-defining final part of a most intriguing trilogy. These two sides have met twice in the past couple of weeks and have notched one victory each, a statistic that will be of no consolation whatsoever to Manchester City, suffered the heartbreak of being eliminated from the Champions League on away goals in the worst scenario imaginable despite beating Spurs on Wednesday night. It will be intriguing to see if they can pick themselves off the floor for this match, as anything less than victory will give leave them behind Liverpool on points at the Premier League summit with just four matches to go for each team. No pressure, Pep.

The Etihad Stadium, where Manchester City entertain Tottenham Hotspur today. Photograph: Nigel Roddis/EPA
[ad_2]
Source link
Leave a Comment
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked with *