- Tottenham Hotspurs beat Manchester City 1-0
- Harry Kane scored to become the club’s all-time leading goalscorer
- The win handed Arsenal a significant boost in the Premier League title race
Tottenham Hotspur’s Harry Kane became the club’s all-time leading goalscorer as the 10-man Lilywhites handed Arsenal a significant boost in the Premier League title race with a 1-0 win over Manchester City.
The England captain surpassed Jimmy Greaves’ 267th goal for Spurs, who missed a post-surgery Antonio Conte in the first half. The hosts survived a late Cristian Romero red card to extend the champions’ curse at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Those in attendance were not getting their money’s worth in the opening exchanges, as City dominated the ball but made no inroads.
Record breaking goal
Tottenham Hotspur’s English striker Harry Kane celebrates after he scores the record-breaking goal.|PHOTO: Getty Images|
Individual errors gifted Tottenham two goals at the Etihad last month, and Pep Guardiola’s team had not learned their lesson, as Kane was gifted his record-breaking goal.
With 15 minutes remaining, Rodri’s pass to Rico Lewis outside the Man City penalty box was intercepted by Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, who advanced into the box before passing to Kane.
The England captain calmly picked out the bottom corner, leaving late Greaves in his wake, to record goal number 267 for Tottenham and his 200th in the Premier League.
Kane, who joined Wayne Rooney (208) and Alan Shearer (260) in that exclusive club, also achieved the double century in the shortest time, taking 304 games, while Shearer and Rooney took 306 and 462 games, respectively.
Man City had only one gilt-edged opportunity to restore parity before the break, as Riyad Mahrez rattled the underside of the bar after latching onto Jack Grealish’s cross in stoppage time.
How the second half unfolded
Guardiola resisted the temptation to bring Kevin De Bruyne off the bench at halftime, but the Belgian was soon introduced in the 58th minute, replacing Mahrez as Spurs comfortably contained City.
In the 64th minute, De Bruyne created one of City’s best chances, picking out Julian Alvarez inside the box with a neat free kick, but Eric Dier made an intelligent block before De Bruyne fired wide from the resulting corner.
A pair of Manchester City penalty appeals were turned down in the process, and Kane was inches away from making it 268 Tottenham goals a few minutes later after a quick counter-attack. Still, Ivan Perisic’s cross was just beyond the striker.
Erling Haaland failed to record a shot in the game.|PHOTO: Sky Sports|
As the game heated up, Alvarez fired a long-range effort just wide of the top corner in the 68th minute, as Tottenham reverted to their counter-attacking prowess while the champions huffed and puffed.
Cristian Stellini’s backline defended admirably, but their task became even more difficult in the 87th minute when Romero tripped Grealish and was immediately shown a second yellow card by referee Andy Madley.
Tottenham would be forced to play five minutes of added time with ten men, but they did so expertly to secure their fifth straight win over Manchester City at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, prompting cheers from the white and red side of North London.
Tottenham congratulate Harry Kane on the milestone goal.|PHOTO: Getty Images|
Conte’s men remain in fifth place but are now only one point behind Newcastle United – despite having played one more match – while Man City still has a five-point deficit to close to leaders Arsenal, who have a game in hand.
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