Man City came back from two goals down as they produced one of the high-scoring football scores of the midweek action in the Premier League. Spurs defeated Pep Guardiola’s team twice last season, and they appeared to be on track for an incredible fifth victory in six games against City when they shocked everyone by taking a 2-0 lead into halftime thanks to quick goals from Dejan Kulusevski (44) and Emerson Royal (45+2) just before the break. After the break, however, Erling Haaland (53) and Julian Alvarez (51) scored two goals for City, the latter scoring for the first time in four games. Soon after, Mahrez (63), who had contributed to both of those goals, produced a moment of personal brilliance to score one of his own and give the hosts the lead.
Ivan Perisic had hit the woodwork at the opposite end only minutes before to Mahrez’s opening goal, but Spurs were unable to counteract City’s second-half momentum and have now lost seven of their previous 13 matches in the top division. They remain in fifth place, five points behind Newcastle in fourth place, who has a game in hand. Their wider problems were highlighted by their fans’ chants against chairman Daniel Levy and in favor of head coach Antonio Conte.
City has the chance to put pressure on their rivals for the title by getting to within two points of Arsenal with a win over Wolves at home on Sunday. City has surged to the title from identical deficits to those they currently have to Arsenal in four of their six Premier League-winning seasons. Tottenham had appeared to be doing their neighbors a major favor, but City, who lost the Manchester derby and the Carabao Cup to Southampton last week, managed to escape losing three straight games for the first time since April 2018.
Even without Kevin De Bruyne, who was on the bench, City had dominated play up to that moment. They gained momentum toward the conclusion of the half as 18-year-old Rico Lewis impressively stepped inside from right-back and Alvarez partnered Haaland for the first time since August. Hugo Lloris faced a long-range challenge from the young player before making a stop at Haaland’s feet. But Spurs scored a rare early goal thanks to an error from Ederson. Rodri received a terrible pass from the goalkeeper, and the midfielder could do nothing but send it to Kulusevski for a goal-scoring opportunity. Spurs had only taken the lead once in their previous ten Premier League games. Within three minutes, they had another.
In a challenge with Rodri in the box, Kane slipped in to win the ball and rocketed into the six-yard box. Emerson was there to head home, bringing enraged boos from the home crowd, after Ederson could only parry the ball out. The City dressing room must have seen some heated words exchanged as they emerged determined to turn the game around, which they did with a two-minute blitz of their own. Alvarez eventually maintained his composure after the winger’s cross sparked a commotion in the Spurs box. Mahrez was at the center of it all.
After that, Mahrez generously headed Rodri’s chipped pass square for Haaland to score the widely anticipated goal, giving the Premier League season a total of 22 goals. On the hour mark, as the game was just getting started, Tottenham came dangerously close to taking the lead when Perisic’s deflected shot looped up against the bar. However, Mahrez was too good for the Croatian in the other box, bamboozling him with a stepover before blasting in a third for City to complete the turnaround.
Lenglet made a mistake that allowed Ederson’s long pass to bounce off him and run through for Mahrez to score his second goal of the game and City’s fourth as a revitalised City threw players forward in search of more. The handball protest against Richarlison was dismissed at this time. It highlighted City’s forceful second half, which, in the wake of recent criticism, reminded everyone of why they have been and will continue to be a major force. The title chase is still going strong, and City is closing in on Arsenal.
For more football scores, click here
