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:
What’s the early team news?
Pep Guardiola declared that John Stones and Ruben Dias are both in contention to start at centre-back after recovering from injuries, although the length of Dias’ absence means he may be more likely to come off the bench. Kevin De Bruyne also missed training this week but Guardiola confirmed that was merely due to a personal issue and doesn’t affect his availability.
Phil Foden has been struggling for form since the World Cup, so Jack Grealish may be preferred to flank Erling Haaland from the off, with Riyad Mahrez seemingly best placed to start on the other side.
Rodrigo Bentancur hasn’t played since the World Cup due to a groin injury but will be straight back into the Tottenham starting XI if fit, while Dejan Kulusevski made his return against Arsenal and looked bright, so is also in line to start. Harry Kane needs just two goals to bring up 200 in the Premier League and to leapfrog Jimmy Greaves as Spurs’ all-time top scorer.
How to watch Man City vs Tottenham
The match will kick off at 8pm BST on Thursday 19 January.
The match will be shown live on Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Premier League and Sky Sports HDR with coverage starting at 7pm BST. If you’re not a Sky customer you can grab a NOWTV Day Pass here to watch without a subscription.
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Man City vs Tottenham
Good evening and welcome to The Independent’s coverage of tonight’s Premier League action that sees Manchester City take on Tottenham in a clash with ramifications for the top of the table.
City currently trails league leaders Arsenal by eight points and will need to string together a run of victories if they hope to regain the title. Pep Guardiola’s men lost 2-1 to Manchester United last time out and a consecutive defeat to Spurs could cost them dearly in the title race.
Tottenham meanwhile are in desperate need of a win. They’ve won just once since the Premier League returned following the World Cup and put in a lacklustre performance last time out against Arsenal who defeated them 2-0. Defeating the current champions away from home would send a wave a confidence through the squad which could reignite Spurs’ season.
We’ll have all the build-up, team news and updates from the Etihad Stadium as the evening goes on so stick with us.
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