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 vs Tottenham team changes
Pep Guardiola makes five changes to the Manchester City team that slumped to a 2-1 defeat to Manchester United last time out.
At the back, Rico Lewis and John Stones come in to replace Joao Cancelo and Kyle Walker whilst Ilkay Gundogan and Jack Grealish replace Kevin De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva. Up top Julian Alvarez partners Erling Haaland with Phil Foden missing out.
Antonio Conte meanwhile swaps out players from the loss to Arsenal. Emerson Royal, Ben Davies and Ivan Perisic slot into the defence replacing Matt Doherty, Clement Lenglet and Ryan Sessegnon.
Elsewhere Rodrigo Bentancur replaces Pape Sarr to partner Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg in midfield.
Man City vs Tottenham line-ups
Man City XI: Ederson, Lewis, Stones, Akanji, Ake, Rodri, Gundogan, Grealish, Mahrez, Alvarez, Haaland
Tottenham XI: Lloris, Royal, Romero, Dier, Davies, Perisic, Hojbjerg, Bentancur, Kulusevski, Son, Kane
Pep Guardiola on chasing Arsenal
Manchester City manager, Pep Guardiola, explained that the competitiveness at the top of the Premier League table always makes it a difficult competition to win but that he relishes the challenge.
“Every year it has been like that,” he said. “When I came here, and we were in the top four I congratulated ourselves and the team and the people said ‘this guy is false’.
“It’s normal, you have to qualify for the Champions League every season. Always it is difficult. It is about training to try to make the consistency in our games. This is what we have to do.
“I’d prefer to be eight points in front, but I like to handle these situations. I love it. I am stressed when I don’t have the solutions, but always I have the feeling that I know the reason why it doesn’t work.”
Conte on Haaland
Antonio Conte was asked about how he has planned to deal with the threat of Manchester City forward Erling Haaland tonight after the Norwegian netted 21 Premier League goals since joining the club in the summer.
“We are talking about a young player but at the same time, I think his status is an important status.” said the Spurs boss,
“He is showing to be a really strong player, he has scored over 20 goals – it’s incredible in your first season in the Premier League to score in this way.
“Yes, we have to pay attention (to him), but we have to pay attention to all of Manchester City’s players because we are talking, I repeat, about a really good team.”
Antonio Conte says football managers taking all media responsibilities is ‘bad habit’
Antonio Conte has questioned the lack of interaction between senior figures at Premier League football clubs and the media which he believes leaves managers under pressure to speak on different issues.
The Tottenham Hotspur head coach is coming under increasing scrutiny following a string of poor performances which culminated in a 2-0 home defeat to north London rivals Arsenal on Sunday.
Speaking at his press conference to preview the next game against Manchester City, Conte repeatedly claimed he was answering similar questions he has fielded previously.
Conte on facing Man City
Totteham boss, Antonio Conte, spoke about taking on Manchester City tonight and how it feels to face ‘one of the best teams in the world’.
“You know very well that we are facing, in my opinion, the best team in this moment and one of the best teams in the world,” said Conte.
“We are talking about a team that is full of top players and for this reason we have to perform, to over-perform, to try to get a good result.
“Last season the result was good but you know very well, when you play against City, you have to concede possession of the ball for a long part of the game and in the part that you have the ball, you have to try to hurt them. We are working very hard to do it.”
Pep Guardiola on value of having strength in depth
Pep Guardiola says that having a strong and fully fit squad is vital for success on the pitch as competition for places brings out the best in individual performances.
“It’s good to have a fully fit squad,” said the Manchester City boss, “Now they have to compete (among) themselves for the benefit of the team and find the best solution.
“We know each other quite well - many years already. Myself, staff, and players. I know them perfectly when they are performing well and doing well.
“We admit that in a tough game against United, we behaved more than well. We didn’t win but that happens. The performance and the way we played against Leeds and Chelsea, we are not far away but we are a team.
“I learned in my time as a manager, as a player as well - but especially as a manager - that I am not alone in this world. Our opponents can sometimes do good things, too. If you give credit to them it doesn’t mean you are bad.
“When another one is better you have to admit it and this is the target you have to achieve. This is not a problem.
“When a team loses a game it’s like everything is not good. This is not the case, there are other teams that are good too, and we have to accept it.”
Antonio Conte hoping for benefit of routinely planning the Premier League’s hardest game
For the first time in a few weeks, Antonio Conte has been able to work with some clarity at Tottenham Hotspur.
That isn’t down to any easing of issues, that the Italian has himself significantly contributed to. It is instead that this trip to Manchester City is a rare game unencumbered by greater complications, other than those Conte constantly dwells on.
He knows Spurs can’t financially compete with the champions, regardless of how ambitious they get, due to the Abu Dhabi ownership. He also knows that disparity further influences a fixture that will always be primarily dictated by Pep Guardiola’s philosophy, which means are completely justified in playing a countering approach.
That has been an issue for Spurs of late, provoking debate, but not here. It removes any doubt for this game. It is one reason why they have such a good record against Guardiola’s City, with some of their best recent results coming at otherwise fraught periods.
Conte hoping for benefit of routinely planning the league’s hardest game
Man City are not in the imperious form we’ve become used to seeing from them, but Tottenham’s own big-match record this season is poor
Man City vs Tottenham prediction
Tottenham look in disarray at the minute and while Man City have been stuttering in recent matches, the magnitude of the game and the necessity of a result should focus their minds.
City to win and Erling Haaland to get back on track.
Man City 3-1 Spurs.
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