Tottenham 0-2 Man City: Player ratings as Cityzens march towards title
FROM TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR STADIUM – Manchester City will sit top of the Premier League heading into the final day of the season after grinding out a 2-0 win at Tottenham.
Spurs’ loyalties in the stands were split knowing that an away victory could potentially deny rivals Arsenal the title.
Ange Postecoglou’s men put up a good fight but ultimately they couldn’t get on the scoresheet and their hopes of Champions League football have now been extinguished.
How the game unfolded
The first chance of the evening went the way of Tottemham. Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg’s cross-field ball was brought down by Brennan Johnson, and his cut-back was met by Rodrigo Bentancur, but his strike from the edge of the box was tipped over by Ederson.
Down the other end, City thought the lead was theirs when Hojbjerg sliced a clearance straight to Phil Foden, whose volley from close range was kept out by the stretching arm of Guglielmo Vicario.
Bernardo Silva then had an effort cleared off the line by Radu Dragusin before a late offside flag was raised against Foden in the build-up.
After the break, Spurs were caught out in their own third and an opportunity presented itself to Kevin De Bruyne, whose low drive was pushed aside by Vicario.
Down the other end, a trademark hooked cross from Johnson found Son Heung-min inside the six-yard box, only for the Tottenham captain to be smothered immediately by Ederson.
With their next attack, City took the lead in simple fashion, with De Bruyne’s ball through the box being tapped in by Erling Haaland – their 79th Premier League shot at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium before scoring.
Spurs sought to find an equaliser and nearly got one when another Johnson cutback fell to Dejan Kulusevski, who edged past Ruben Dias but was thwarted by Stefan Ortega, who had replaced the injured Ederson.
With under five minutes of regulation time remaining, Tottenham spurned a huge chance to equalise. Manuel Akanji was dispossessed by Johnson and Son took the loose ball to the box, only for Ortega to deny him.
Heading into stoppage time, City won a penalty when Pedro Porro brought down Jeremy Doku after the Belgian sprinted 40 yards to race onto a through ball from Foden. Haaland stepped up and scored to wrap up the points and potentially the title.
Doku brought one last save out of Vicario before ten minutes of added time came to a close and City’s place atop the table was confirmed heading into matchday 38.
Tottenham player ratings (4-3-3)
Porro conceded a late penalty / Justin Setterfield/GettyImages
GK: Guglielmo Vicario – 6/10 – Made a pair of unbelievable saves before City eventually broke the deadlock.
RB: Pedro Porro – 4/10 – Burst forward on the overlap more often than the usual instruction of tucking into midfield. Threatened to cause danger though didn’t tangibly. Conceded a late penalty for a foul on Doku.
CB: Cristian Romero – 5/10 – Lost the run of Haaland for the opener and clattered into Ederson which eventually forced him off. Aside from that was additive with his passing and willingness to bomb forward.
CB: Radu Dragusin – 6/10 – Robust in his defending on his first start for Tottenham against a team of elite quality.
LB: Micky van de Ven – 5/10 – Guilty of naturally tucking inside in the first half but bucked this trend in the second to ensure City didn’t get down his flank so easily.
DM: Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg – 5/10 – The two extremes of Hojbjerg were on display here. Sometimes turned into prime Andrea Pirlo, sometimes did something silly with the ball.
CM: Rodrigo Bentancur – 6/10 – Broke up play well, though did leave one on Foden midway through the first half. Progressed the ball too but was sacrificed early for another attacker in Kulusevski, much to his anger.
CM: James Maddison – 6/10 – Roamed about the midfield with a bit more freedom than in recent weeks. Made incisive passes to cut between the full-back and centre-back.
RW: Brennan Johnson – 7/10 – The creator of Tottenham’s best chances, scampering to the touchline and whipping low crosses in. Also won the ball leading to Son’s late chance.
CF: Pape Matar Sarr – 5/10 – More of a false nine rather than a proper one. Led the press but didn’t do much to hold play up and ultimately dropped back into midfield when Kulusevski came on.
LW: Son Heung-min – 5/10 – Somehow didn’t score when put through with Ortega late on. Marshalled well by Walker for much of the evening.
Substitutes
SUB: Dejan Kulusevski (55′ for Bentancur) – 6/10 – Played up front and to his credit made some openings, but he just couldn’t convert his chances.
SUB: Giovani Lo Celso (85′ for Sarr) – 5/10
SUB: Oliver Skipp (85′ for Hojbjerg) – 5/10
SUB: Mikey Moore (90′ for Maddison) – N/A – 16-year-old forward made his senior debut in added time.
Subs not used: Brandon Austin (GK), Emerson Royal, Tyrese Hall, Bryan Gil, Dane Scarlett
Manager
Ange Postecoglou – 6/10 – Well, he wasn’t lying, he really wanted his side to win. They gave it a good go but came up short, though not to any shame.
Manchester City player ratings (4-2-3-1)
Foden sparkled again / Julian Finney/GettyImages
GK: Ederson – 6/10 – Hurt in a collision with Romero in the second half and though was initially fine to continue, was replaced by Ortega eventually. Beat the Spurs press with his impressive kicking.
RB: Kyle Walker – 6/10 – Pushed high into advanced areas though his final ball was seriously lacking.
CB: Ruben Dias – 5/10 – Did not play with the confidence or assurance required in a high-stakes game like this.
CB: Manuel Akanji – 5/10 – Similarly rattled from start to finish, whether in possession or out of it. Owes a debt of gratitude to Ortega for saving his skin late on.
LB: Josko Gvardiol – 6/10 – Found a new swagger in attack following his recent spate of goals, though was unable to convert on this occasion.
CM: Rodri – 6/10 – Didn’t always enjoy being pressed by Tottenham but you could always depend on him to wriggle out of a sticky situation when Spurs bodies surrounded him.
CM: Mateo Kovacic – 5/10 – A level below his teammates tactically, but that’s understandable given he’s still in his first season in such a setup.
RW: Bernardo Silva – 6/10 – Posed a threat to Spurs in the first half but couldn’t keep that up in the second.
AM: Kevin De Bruyne – 7/10 – Stifled for the most part but came up with a huge assist when City needed it. Hauled off shortly after going down in agony after a challenge to the back of the leg from Sarr.
LW: Phil Foden – 8/10 – City looked completely different when Foden was in possession, a willingness to get forward in numbers and look alive came about.
CF: Erling Haaland – 8/10 – Wasn’t involved at all outside his two goals, but that’s all that mattered in the end. Goals win titles.
Substitutes
SUB: Stefan Ortega (69′ for Ederson) – 8/10 – Produced one of the saves of the season to potentially clinch City the title.
SUB: Jeremy Doku (69′ for De Bruyne) – 8/10 – Drew the foul out of Porro for the penalty that iced the game.
SUB: Julian Alvarez (90′ for Haaland) – N/A
Subs not used: John Stones, Nathan Ake, Rico Lewis, Matheus Nunes, Jack Grealish, Oscar Bobb
Manager
Pep Guardiola – 6/10 – City collectively lacked composure and their usual mental resilience, which seemed so odd given their usual performances down the stretch of seasons.
Player of the match – Erling Haaland (Manchester City)
Source: 90mins
