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A dominant Manchester City extended their winning streak to 16 across all competitions. A penalty from Rodri and a brace from Ilkay Gundogan helped Pep Guardiola’s men secure an emphatic 3-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday.
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The home side took control of the game right from the first whistle, wasting no time in exerting their dominance over the visitors at both ends of the pitch. Manchester City deservedly took the lead in the 23rd minute after Rodri converted a penalty.
Despite going into the half-time break just a single goal to the good, Manchester City were comfortably the better side. They doubled their advantage through Gundogan in the 50th minute as Spurs struggled to pose an attacking threat.
The win was virtually secured in the 66th minute as Gundogan grabbed his second and Manchester City’s third after latching on to Ederson’s clearance. The German slotted home in clinical fashion to keep his red-hot scoring run going.
As the final whistle blew, Manchester City extended their lead over second-placed Leicester City to seven points with a game in hand. On the other hand, Spurs’ stuttering run of results sees them in eighth place in the Premier League table and in danger of being overtaken by those around them.
And so, in a preview of the Carabao Cup final that these two teams are set to contest in April, here are the hits and flops from Manchester City’s comfortable 3-0 win over Spurs.
#1 Hit: Ilkay Gundogan
The Premier League Player of the Month for January made a strong claim for another win this month, repeating his heroics against Liverpool with another brace and winning a penalty for good measure.
The German midfielder has admirably deputized for the injured Kevin De Bruyne over the past few weeks. Some might argue that Gundogan has outshone the Belgian, as he bagged his ninth goal in as many league games in 2021.
Gundogan has almost perfected the art of making the late run into the box - a quality that he displayed as he won a penalty in the first half after Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg crudely ended a trademark surge into the box.
He then got himself on the scoresheet five minutes into the second half, finishing off a neat Manchester City passing move before doubling his tally in the 66th minute.
Having beautifully brought down Ederson’s monstrous punt upfield, Gundogan showed great strength and skill to beat a couple of defenders and slot an unerring finish into the bottom corner.
Worryingly for Manchester City, the German seemed to pick up an injury that forced him to go off shortly after scoring his second goal. Pep Guardiola will be hoping that it is not a serious one.
#2 Flop: Hugo Lloris
Coming into the game with 99 Premier League clean sheets to his name, Lloris might not have expected the landmark 100th to come against his in-form opponents. However, he would still be disappointed with the manner in which the goals went in.
Despite guessing the right way and getting a hand to Rodri’s first-half penalty, the Spurs keeper was unable to keep it out and looked visibly frustrated with his effort.
His attempt to keep out Gundogan’s first goal would have left him even more disappointed. Lloris seemed confused about saving with his arms or legs, ultimately falling over in a tangle of limbs as the shot rolled past him.
Even though Lloris had no chance with Manchester City’s third goal, the World Cup winner would have expected much better from himself in an encounter of this magnitude.
#3 Hit: Raheem Sterling
Manchester City’s captain on the night, Sterling, was virtually unplayable out wide. He gave both Ben Davies and Japhet Tanganga a hard time as he kept switching flanks with Phil Foden throughout the game.
The Englishman played an important role in both of Manchester City’s first two goals, linking up well with Gabriel Jesus in the lead up to the penalty. Sterling displayed some mesmerizing interplay with Foden in the Spurs penalty area before slipping Gundogan through.
What makes Sterling’s performance even more impressive is that his energy levels did not drop as the clock ticked on. He showed speed, skill, and desire in equal measure even in the late stages of the game, as the ruthless Manchester City side went on the hunt for more goals.
#4 Flop: Erik Lamela
The Argentinian was part of a Spurs side severely lacking in creativity in the face of a formidable Manchester City defense. However, Lamela’s performance was made even more frustrating by the numerous niggly fouls he committed during his time on the pitch.
Having walked the tightrope of a booking virtually from the start of the game, Lamela finally received the yellow card in the 65th minute for one in a series of clumsy challenges that typified Spurs’ frustrations on the night.
His poor outing finally came to an end when he was replaced by Gareth Bale in the 72nd minute, with his side 3-0 down and Lamela himself having provided nothing more than a yellow card to show for his appearance.
#5 Hit: Ederson
It appears that keeping clean sheets is becoming all too easy for the Brazilian shot-stopper, as the majority of his contributions to this game came in an attacking sense.
There was added scrutiny around Ederson before this game. Guardiola had hinted that his goalkeeper might be taking over penalty duties in light of Manchester City’s woeful form from 12 yards, which is why there was a layer of added intrigue when Manchester City were awarded a spot-kick in the 21st minute.
Even though a hopeful Ederson ventured as far as the half-line and half-enquired about who would take the penalty, the footballing world was left a little disappointed. It was midfielder Rodri who converted from the spot.
However, the Brazilian was not to be outdone. He claimed a rare assist with a humongous kick out from the back that turned into the ideal through-ball for Gundogan to latch on to, with the German duly obliging.
And with a couple of smart saves late on, Ederson reminded everyone that he was still mindful of his primary duties on the pitch as he comfortably secured his 14th clean sheet of the season.
