Man City experienced a dramatic 3-3 draw with Tottenham Hotspur when the two teams played tit-for-tat.
Man City welcoming Tottenham Hotspur at home became the highlight match of round 14 of the Premier League. Pep Guardiola’s teachers and students aspire to win three points, thereby closing the gap with top team Arsenal.
As for Tottenham Hotspur, the away team wants to end a series of 3 losing matches in the Premier League. Coach Ange Postecoglou faces a personnel problem when a series of key players are missing for different reasons.
With home advantage, Man City proactively pushed their squad up right after the opening whistle. In this match, Pep ranked Erling Haaland highest in attack. In the 4th minute, Jeremy Doku fired a shot that left goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario unable to catch the ball.
Tottenham suddenly scored an early opening goal. In the 6th minute, the Rooster counter-attacked exemplary. Son Heung-min dribbled the ball, raced at speed, passed Doku before kicking the ball past goalkeeper Ederson Moraes.
Just three minutes after the goal, Man City scored a 1-1 equalizer according to an unexpected scenario. In the 9th minute, starting from Julian Alvarez’s hanging ball, Son fumbled and scored an own goal.
The equalizing goal helped Man City players relieve their psychological burden. In the 12th minute, Haaland missed an incredible opportunity when he kicked the ball out at a distance of 5 meters from Tottenham’s goal.
Man City pushed high, constantly creating turbulent situations towards Tottenham’s goal. In the 29th minute, Doku fired a powerful shot, hitting the crossbar of Tottenham’s goal.
In the 31st minute, the home team scored the second goal. Tottenham’s defense played carelessly, allowing Julian Alvarez and Phil Foden to coordinate beautifully. Foden was the one who finished accurately, helping Man City increase the score to 2-1.
For the remainder of the first half, Man City actively pressed but could not score more goals. At the end of the first 45 minutes, Man City led Tottenham 2-1.
Entering the second half, Tottenham actively pressed and pushed the team high. In the 45th minute, Bernardo Silva shot, forcing goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario to use all his talent to save.
Man City’s unexpected slowing down made them pay a heavy price. In the 69th minute, Son had a good combination with Lo Celso. Space opened up and Lo Celso shot a strong shot that hit the post and went into Man City’s net. Score tied 2-2.
Receiving a goal, Man City seemed to wake up. Pep Guardiola’s army increased the pressure and reaped the rewards. In the 81st minute, Yves Bissouma lost the ball in the middle of the field, Man City launched a quick counterattack. Haaland crossed comfortably for Grealish to shoot into Tottenham’s net. Man City took the lead over Tottenham 3-2!.
The dramatic match has not stopped. In the 90th minute, Brennan Johnson hung the ball smoothly from the left wing, Dejan Kulusevski jumped and headed dangerously, tearing into Man City’s net. The score is 3-3!.
Man City pressed hard in extra time in the second half but could not score against Tottenham once more. At the end of 90 minutes, Man City drew 3-3 Tottenham. With this result, Man City lost second place to Liverpool, finishing behind The Kop with one point less.
Final score: Man City 3-3 Tottenham Hotspur
Scored: Son (6′), Son (9′, OG), Foden (31′), Lo Celso (69′), Grealish (81′), Kulusevski (90′).
Squad
Man City (3-4-3): Ederson Moraes, Kyle Walker, Ruben Dias, Josko Gvardiol, Rodri, Manuel Akanji, Julian Alvarez, Bernardo Silva, Phil Foden, Jeremy Doku, Erling Haaland.
Tottenham Hotspur (4-2-3-1): Guglielmo Vicario, Destiny Udogie, Ben Davies, Emerson Royal, Pedro Porro, Giovani Lo Celso, Yves Bissouma, Bryan Gil, Brennan Johnson, Dejan Kulusevski, Son Heung-min.