Erling Haaland’s 20th Premier League goal of the season was enough for Manchester City to overcome Tottenham Hotspur and remain in the top four.
The 24-year-old converted Jeremy Doku’s deflected cross after 12 minutes, and would have scored another right at the end of injury time if not for a controversial refereeing decision.
Here are three things we learned as City ground out a win in North London
City showing they’re still built of sterner stuff than a few weeks ago
It was a game of two halves.
City were magnificent in the first period, and should’ve been three goals up at half time, but Tottenham were the better team in the second, and missed as many chances as City did in the first half.
A few months ago, City would’ve crumbled under this pressure. But to be fair to them, they didn’t concede a huge chance that Spurs absolutely had to score until the very final moments of the game, where Pape Matar Sarr headed over in the box.
Ederson was very good, and made a few important saves. Josko Gvardiol was magnificent at left back too, with Ruben Dias and Abdukodir Khusanov forming a formidable partnership at the back.
Matheus Nunes got rinsed a few times when City were under the cosh, but on the ball and on the whole defensively he was very, very good too.
Not only did they hang on and survive when under pressure, but they also recovered things to make it a fairly stress free final few minutes (other than the Sarr chance.)
Bernardo Silva and Phil Foden were good and made a difference off the bench, and they would’ve taken away what would’ve been a deserved two goal margin had the referee given Haaland’s goal with no clear evidence of handball.
This was a morale boosting and confidence increasing win, as it showed that City do still have the mettle to grind results over the line.
New spine of the team showing
In Khusanov, Dias, Nico Gonzalez and Haaland, City have something to build around.
All four started and impressed against Spurs, and it wouldn’t surprise me if they all start every game when fit until the rest of the season.
Dias is 27, Haaland 24, Nico 23 and Khusanov 21. They all have at least five years left at the top level, with the latter three having more like ten.
Rodri will be fit again in two or three months, Phil Foden will surely return to form soon, Oscar Bobb is back from injury soon, Savinho and Omar Marmoush are finding their feet and Claudio Echeverri has started training with the first team after the Under 20’s World Cup.
This is a promising looking spine for the next few years and as Pep Guardiola said a few days ago in his post-match Liverpool press conference, it’s looking bright for City’s future.
Ruthlessness in front of goal is an issue - but a win’s a win
Missing chances in front of goal is an issue, however.
Savinho and Haaland both had big chances that they should’ve stuck away. Nunes, Doku and Savinho again also all had issues where the final ball in a promising position was very disappointing.
I mentioned this earlier this season, and it stands to be true. Other than Haaland, there aren’t many consistent sources of goals within the team.
Marmoush will surely chip in more once he’s found his feet, and has shown more than a bit of potential with his hattrick against Newcastle United.
Foden too can usually be relied upon to hit around 20 goals a season in all competitions, but he’s been poor this season.
Kevin de Bruyne and Ilkay Gundogan’s output has significantly decreased, Doku and Savinho are still inconsistent with their end product and there are no other real attacking minded players in the squad that can contribute, other than Jack Grealish and James McAtee, who rarely start.
However, three points is three points. Newcastle losing and Nottingham Forest and Arsenal dropping points mean City are just a point behind third and are now in a really strong position to comfortably finish in the top four.