Pep Guardiola suffered a fifth straight defeat for the first time in his managerial career as Manchester City’s crisis deepened following an incredible 4-0 home defeat by Tottenham.
City will fall eight points behind Liverpool if the Premier League leaders win at Southampton on Sunday – with City then travelling to Anfield next week, live on Sky Sports.
“Man City were outplayed in every department,” summarised Sky Sports’ Gary Neville. “They look well short – as short as I have seen them since Guardiola’s first season.”
There was a celebratory mood around the Etihad before kick-off as Man City midfielder Rodri showed off his Ballon d’Or trophy on the pitch. There was also the news of Guardiola’s new two-year deal to stay with the Premier League champions and the positive atmosphere translated onto the pitch in the early stages.
With Phil Foden, who started in the No 10 position behind Erling Haaland, pulling the strings, Man City started by cutting Spurs open with ease. “It’s a little too easy,” Sky Sports’ Gary Neville said, but it was Haaland’s wastefulness in front of goal that would prove costly. Haaland snatched at his shot after being played in by Josko Gvardiol before the Norway striker fired straight at Guglielmo Vicario after being picked out by Savinho’s cross.
Spurs punished City as they took the lead from “out of nowhere”, according to Neville. The brilliant Dejan Kulusevski’s exquisite cross found James Maddison, who volleyed past Ederson to leave the Etihad stunned.
The visitors were now in full control and it was City who were being cut open at will. Ederson had to pull off a stunning fingertip save to deny Heung-Min Son but there was nothing he could do to deny Maddison a second. It was fast becoming a 28th birthday to remember for the England midfielder, who capitalised on a Gvardiol error before producing a deft finish over the Man City goalkeeper to double Spurs’ lead.
Maddison chips the ball over Ederson to make it 2-0 to Spurs
Nathan Ake replaced John Stones at the break but there was no change in fortune for City.
Kulusevski played a key role again as Spurs further extended their advantage. He carried the ball out of defence, holding off two challenges before releasing Dominic Solanke. The striker teed up Pedro Porro, who hammered the ball into the back of the net to put Spurs in dreamland.
“The stadium is shell-shocked. They can’t believe what they are watching,” said Neville after the third Spurs goal. Haaland grazed the crossbar with an effort before Guardiola rung the changes, bringing on Kevin De Bruyne and Jack Grealish to try and find a way back into the contest.
Man City forward Erling Haaland missed three first-half chances as the champions were found wanting in both boxes
It did not happen and the Spurs celebrations got even bigger in stoppage time as substitute Timo Werner ran past Kyle Walker like he wasn’t there before teeing up Brennan Johnson for a tap-in as Man City suffered a third straight Premier League defeat under Guardiola for the first time.
Things do not get any easier for City. They will look to avoid a sixth straight defeat against Feyenoord in the Champions League on Tuesday before a huge Premier League showdown against league leaders Liverpool, who have the chance to go eight points clear when they take on Southampton on Sunday, live on Sky Sports.
Sunday 1st December 3:30pm
Kick off 4:00pm
“I felt now is not the time to leave, I would let the club down and I had the feeling I had to do it,” Guardiola said earlier in the week on signing his deal to stay at City amid their poor run of recent form.
Defeats to Tottenham in the Carabao Cup, Sporting in the Champions League, Bournemouth, Brighton and now Spurs again in the Premier League have deepened those problems for Guardiola and City.
The goals: Spurs stun City…
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Maddison gives Tottenham the early lead at Manchester City, somewhat against the run of play
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Maddison’s second of the game extends Tottenham’s lead
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Manchester City are stunned as Pedro Porro makes it three for Tottenham at the Etihad
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Brennan Johnson adds another as Manchester City are embarrassed!
Pep: We are fragile defensively
Man City boss Pep Guardiola:
“In this moment we are fragile defensively. We started really well as normal but we could not score and then after that we conceded. After that, we conceded some more which is difficult for our emotions right now.
“In eight years we have never lived this kind of situation. Now we have to live it and break it by winning the next games, especially the next one. Now we see things in one way, maybe in a few weeks we will see it differently.
“Of course [the players are struggling]. We are happy when we win and concerned when we don’t win. It’s normal. There would be a problem if they were not worried or I am not worried.
“We are not used to this situation but life is like this. Sometimes it happens and we have to accept it. It is what it is now and we will stand up and do it.
“The fire is when you win a lot of games, which is better than when you are losing, but we accept this. We have to move forward and break it and try.”
‘A sobering day for well-short City’
Pep Guardiola appears dejected with his side trailing Spurs at home
Sky Sports’ Gary Neville at the Etihad Stadium:
“Man City were outplayed in every department. They look well short – as short as I have seen them since Guardiola’s first season.
“[Pep] will have wanted that international break to come, thinking it would be a reset moment.
“But it further entrenches the opinion this is a City side currently in decline. It seems madness, when you think about what they’ve achieved.
“We have highlighted the number of shots but that’s not City’s biggest problem at this moment. It’s the fact they have become easier to play against. Teams are encouraged. The vulnerability is clear for everyone to see.
“It’s a sobering day for Man City”
‘Spurs brilliant to a man’
Pedro Porro celebrates with team-mates Maddison and Dominic Solanke after Spurs take a 3-0 lead
Sky Sports’ Jamie Redknapp:
“Tottenham were magnificent. We all looked at the team with Ben Davies and Dragusin, how are they going to keep this Man City forward line quiet? Impossible. They were fantastic. Brilliant to a man.
“Once they got that goal in the 13th minute they were by far the better team.
“Tottenham will have had a lot of demons in their head after that Brighton game when they were two up. There was a real calmness about them today. They were absolutely fantastic.
“Tottenham are capable of brilliance. We’ve seen it. They have moments in games when they are a joy to watch but that chaotic nature they normally have wasn’t there.”
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Pep Guardiola insisted his Manchester City team must look at themselves, as well as the boss himself, for reasons why they continue to lose games
Ange: Significant win for Spurs
Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou to Sky Sports:
“It’s significant, when you understand the context of who we were playing.
“I’m proud of the lads, the football we played, the resilience and discipline we showed. When you play City they test every aspect of your game and we handled that well.
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Ange Postecoglou took pride in the manner of Tottenham’s 4-0 victory at Manchester City, with the significance of the result not lost on the Spurs boss
“It was an important game for us, the way the boys reacted [to defeat to Ipswich]. It’s easy when you’re under pressure to splinter off but I never got the sense that would happen this week.
“The disappointing thing over the last few games is we’ve fallen well short of the kind of team we want to be. But I’ve no doubt we are on the right track.”