Pep Guardiola suffered a fifth straight defeat for the first time in his managerial career as Manchester City’s crisis deepened following a heavy 4-0 home defeat by Tottenham.
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 in behind Erling Haaland, pulling the strings, Man City were 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 fingertips 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.
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.
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.
“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.
“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 now here, 3-0 down, 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”
