It was less than a month ago when these two sides met at the Etihad Stadium, and despite eventually losing 4-2, Spurs did take the lead in that game and history repeated itself here. As has been symptomatic of City’s season, they were caught playing on the edge of their own area by Pierre-Emile Højbjerg, who in turn fed Kane to fire home an opener which, as well as making him Tottenham’s all-time top scorer, moved him onto 200 Premier League (PL) goals - joining Alan Shearer and Wayne Rooney as the only players to reach this milestone.
That goal means Kane has now scored as many PL goals as Barnsley, Swindon, Huddersfield and Cardiff combined, and how City could’ve done with some of his goalscoring exploits as the crossbar denied them an equaliser on the stroke of HT when the hero of the reverse fixture, Riyad Mahrez, was thwarted by the woodwork. That chance seemed to spur City into life a little, and they emerged for the second half with a renewed sense of optimism, but again they were struggling to make their mark in front of goal, with Julián Álvarez the next man to spurn an opportunity.
See stats from the match at Flashscore
City were becoming increasingly frustrated by their lack of chances, but with Spurs having conceded at least twice in their last five PL home games, hope remained they could complete another famous turnaround. City failed to translate that into meaningful opportunities though, as their remarkable record of having never scored a goal at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium continued. It marked another dark day for Pep Guardiola, with this the stadium he has visited most without winning. His opposite number may not have been in the dugout after undergoing surgery, but Antonio Conte will have been delighted to watch his side see the victory over the line, despite losing Cristian Romero to a second yellow card in the dying moments.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Pierre-Emile Højbjerg (Tottenham Hotspur)