Player Ratings: Tottenham 3-1 Manchester City

3 goals in the space of 6 minutes saw Tottenham keep their hopes of a top four finish alive. City took the lead in the 5^th minute of the match but Spurs continued to apply pressure and a Clint Dempsey tap-in from an exquisite Gareth Bale cross allowed Villas-Boas’ men to get back into the match.

Tottenham Hotspur

Hugo Lloris: 7/10: Showed great composure as City dominated much of the first half. Made a couple of crucial saves, one from a Dzeko shot and another on a corner to keep Tottenham in the match.

Kyle Walker: 7/10: Another great outing for the England international. Made great forward runs and proved to be a nuisance for Gael Clichy. Stood firm on his feet while defending in his own half.

Michael Dawson: 6.5/10: Had an average first half as he mistimed a few of his tackles but improved as the game went on. Defended well on corners.

Jan Vertonghen: 7/10: A decent outing for the Belgian international. Dealt well with the aerial threat posed by Edin Dzeko.

Benoit Assou-Ekotto 6/10: Weakest of the Tottenham’s defenders. Looked careless and could have been sent off for a two-footed lunge at Pablo Zabaleta.

Mousa Dembele 7/10: Used his strength to make his presence felt in the center of midfield throughout the match. Managed to get into good positions and consistently tried to string together a few passes.

Scott Parker: 6/10: Tried his best but couldn’t dominate the midfield. Lacked invention and was eventually taken off on the hour mark.

Clint Dempsey: 7/10: Was everywhere on the pitch and coolly slotted the ball past Joe Hart for Tottenham’s equalizer.

Gareth Bale: 8/10: Made his intentions clear with a long range effort to test Joe Hart as early as in the 3^rd minute. Provided a delicious cross from the outside of his left foot for Dempsey to tap in for Spurs’ equalizer before scoring a goal himself. Great performance from the Welsh winger.

Gylfi Sigurdsson: 5.5/10: Looked out of sorts from the first minute itself. Failed to control the ball and was guilty of heavy first touches on the ball. Was taken off in the 60^th minute as Spurs toiled to get an equalizer.

Emmanuel Adebayor: 6/10: Did his best to find a way through the sturdy City defense, but in vain. Tried to form a partnership with Bale upfront in the first half. All in all, a disappointing performance the man who had an extra motivation to perform well against his former team. Was taken off in the 70^th minute.

Substitutions:

Tom Huddlestone: 7/10: Was introduced in place of Scott Parker and made his intentions clear by attempting through balls for Gareth Bale to chase. And one such pass in the 82^nd minute found the Welshman who coolly chipped the ball over Joe Hart for Tottenham’s third.

Lewis Holtby: 7/10: Came on for Sigurdsson and quickly made his presence felt on the pitch. Provided the assist for Tottenham’s second goal.

Jermaine Defoe: 7.5/10: Provided a fresh injection of pace since coming on. Picked a vital game to score his first goal since boxing day with an unstoppable finish.

Manchester City

Joe Hart: 6/10: Made a shaky start to the game but gained his composure and made a fine save in a one-on-one situation against Kyle Walker. Could have done better to stop Gareth Bale’s goal.

Pablo Zabaleta: 7.5/10: Probably the best player of the season so far for Manchester City and the Argentine carried forward his fine form. Won his fair share of aerial tackles and didn’t allow Spurs forwards much time on the ball.

Vincent Kompany: 6.5/10: Enjoyed a decent game until Spurs went all out on attack. Was caught watching the ball for Spurs’ first as the ball went from right in front of him.

Matija Nastasic: 6.5/10: The youngster did no harm to his reputation and closed down the opposition players well.

Gael Clichy: 7/10: Another decent performance for Clichy. Attacked and defended with equal prowess.

Yaya Toure: 6.5/10: Below-average performance from the midfield maestro. Was forced to operate from his own half as Spurs went out on all attacking in the second half.

Gareth Barry: 6/10: Held his position just ahead of defense as his more adventurous midfield partners tried to break Tottenham’s resilience. Looked tired in the second half and his lack of pace was exploited well by Tottenham forwards.

James Milner: 6.5/10: Managed to get into decent positions and it was his pinpoint cross to Nasri that led to City’s first goal. Was forced to go off at half time after doing some damage to his hamstring.

Carlos Tevez: 7/10: Kept the ball well and dictated most of City’s forward play. Did well to make space for himself and then pass the ball to Milner for City’s first goal.

Samir Nasri: 6.5/10: Scored the opening goal of the match but after that couldn’t manage to carry forward his recent fine form.

Edin Dzeko: 5.5/10: Didn’t trouble the Tottenham defense much and managed to stay invisible throughout the second half and was eventually replaced by Scott Sinclair with 7 minutes left.

Substitutions:

Alexander Kolarov: 5/10: Came on at half time but couldn’t get himself involved at all. Played a lot of loose passes and looked clueless at times with the ball on his feet.

Scott Sinclair: -/10: Came on late in the game and had no real time to make an impact.