Manchester City failed to close the gap on Premier League leaders Arsenal after losing 1-0 to Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday evening.
Premier League
Result: Tottenham Hotspur 0-1 Manchester City
Date: 05 February 2023
Venue: Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
Man City made four changes to the side that narrowly beat Arsenal in the FA Cup, as Kevin De Bruyne dropped to the bench while goalkeeper Ederson, Kyle Walker, Bernardo Silva and Julian Alvarez were recalled.
Spurs, meanwhile were without manager Antonio Conte on the bench after he underwent surgery, as Dejan Kulusevski and Son Heung-Min supported Harry Kane upfront.
The Lilywhites gave as much they got in the early exchanges and were rewarded on 15 minutes after Kane fired them ahead with a strike across Ederson from a through ball by Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, became Spurs' all-time leading goalscorer and scored his 200th goal in the Premier League.
Pep Guardiola's charges struggled to combine going forward, as they were scrambling to get back into the game and only came close to equalising on the stroke of half-time after Riyad Mahrez's volley in the box came off the crossbar.
City's struggles continued in the second stanza and on the hour-mark Guardiola eventually brought on De Bruyne in place Mahrez in a tactical change and the visitors started threatening, as Alvarez goal-bound shot blocked from a set-piece routine setup by the Belgian.
As the Citizens sent numbers forward, they were vulnerable on counter-attacks and Kane had such a chance with 20 minutes to go but saw his shot at near post deflected wide.
The game was on the balance in the closing stages and Spurs looked for better control with a tactical change as Yves Bissouma replaced Son.
The Lilywhites' plan had a challenge just after that as they were down to ten men for the remaining five minutes after Cristian Romero got a second booking for a foul on Jack Grealish and was sent off.
However, Spurs were resolute at the back and stopped City's every move, as they held on for maximum points in North London.
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