Man City vs Tottenham LIVE: Premier League result, final score and reaction as Riyad Mahrez completes comeback
Man City 4-2 Tottenham: Pep Guardiola’s men come from behind to beat Spurs and close the gap on Arsenal
Riyad Mahrez struck twice as Manchester City staged a stunning fightback to reignite their title hopes with a 4-2 win over Tottenham.
The Premier League champions were rocked when Spurs struck twice through Dejan Kulusevski and Emerson Royal in the closing moments of the first half after Ederson errors at the Etihad Stadium.
Yet faced with the prospect of trailing leaders Arsenal by eight points and having played a game more, Pep Guardiola’s side roused themselves after the break.
Julian Alvarez pulled one back and Erling Haaland, with his first goal in four games, restored parity before the influential Mahrez secured victory with a double.
The turnaround prevented City sinking to a third successive defeat in all competitions and will probably have left Arsenal bemoaning their rivals’ inability to land another blow on the champions.
Relive all the action as Manchester City defeated Tottenham at the Etihad Stadium:
Man City 0-0 Tottenham
15 mins: Chance! Tottenham slowly work their way up the pitch before Rodrigo Bentancur receives the ball and slips one into the box for Harry Kane.
Kane gets to the ball and blasts a shot at goal, rattling it into the side-netting before the offside falg goes up against him.
Man City 0-0 Tottenham
12 mins: City’s back-to-back corners come to nothing but they win a free kick just outside the penalty area after a late tackle from Ben Davies who takes out Julian Alvarez.
Riyad Mahrez takes a shot from the dead ball but hits the wall.
Man City 0-0 Tottenham
9 mins: Lovely from Man City again. Lewis finds Gundogan in the middle of the pitch and he threads another cutting pass through to Alvarez.
Alvarez drives up the pitch and attempts a cross but his path is blocked behind for a corner.
Man City 0-0 Tottenham
6 mins: Rodrigo Bentancur gives this Tottenham side a great deal more confidence in the middle of the pitch. He’s good on the ball and defensively solid.
The midfielder curls the ball over to Ivan Perisic on the left wing and the full-back drives down the line. He looks the take the ball past Rico Lewis but the youngster lunges in and knocks it out for a throw in.
Good tackle.
Man City 0-0 Tottenham
3 mins: Nearly! City invite Spurs to press them but move the ball which pace and ease, transitioning it from the backline into midfield before firing a hopeful ball up towards Julian Alvarez.
Ben Davies is aware of Alvarez’s run though and squeezes ahead of the striker to intercept the ball before it reaches him.
Kick off: Man City 0-0 Tottenham
Tottenham get the match underway and work the ball up the pitch where it’s won in the air by Manchester City. The home side send it back to Ederson and look to build their first attack from the back.
Man City vs Tottenham
Here come the teams.
Hugo Lloris and Ilkay Gundogan lead out their respective clubs. There’s a lot at stake tonight with the pressure on Manchester City who need to win to keep up the pace with Arsenal.
This one is almost a free hit for Spurs. They’re not expected to win tonight but it’ll be a massive result if they do. Kick off is up next.
Will Haaland score tonight?
Erling Haaland has gone consecutive Premier League appearances without a goal for the first time - he last went three league games without finding the back of the net between March and April last season for Borussia Dortmund.
Antonio Conte left questioning long-term future after losing three close friends
Antonio Conte is proud of his hard work and commitment to football management but admits losing three close friends has left him questioning his long-term future.
Gian Piero Ventrone, the club’s fitness coach, died in October before Conte’s friend and former Lazio defender Sinisa Mihajlovic died in December.
That was then followed by the death of Conte’s former Juventus and Italy team-mate Gianluca Vialli earlier this month. At 53, Conte is the same age as Mihajlovic was at his time of death, while Vialli was just five years his senior.
Asked ahead of Tottenham’s Premier League trip to Manchester City how he was feeling after such a difficult time, the Italian replied: “For sure, this season is a difficult season from a personal aspect.”
Antonio Conte left questioning long-term future after losing three close friends
The Tottenham head coach admits it has been a difficult season from a personal aspect.
Can Kane break the records?
Harry Kane needs one more goal to equal Jimmy Greaves club record of 266 in all competitions.
Kane is two short of becoming just the third player to reach the milestone of 200 Premier League goals, emulating both Alan Shearer and Wayne Rooney.
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