Manchester City FC

Following a bright Spurs start, City took the lead against the run of play through Vivianne Miedema’s well-met header, but Bethany England equalised before half-time.

Both teams created chances after the break but it looked likely the contest would end in a draw before Fujino smashed home a fantastic effort on 78 minutes to restore our advantage.

It means Gareth Taylor’s side have moved back into the division’s top three - albeit having played a game more than fourth-placed Arsenal.

WHAT HAPPENED

Spurs entered the meeting looking to bounce back from their 5-0 defeat to Arsenal in their final assignment ahead of the international break and they made a fast start in east London.

Eveliina Summanen tested the hands of Ayaka Yamashita before England’s fierce shot was blocked wide after she collected the ball inside the box.

Gareth Taylor’s side boasted a strong defensive record against the Londoners having not conceded in each of our last three games with Robert Vilahamn’s side, but the hosts came close to breaking the deadlock in the latest meeting.

We defended a corner well before the ball looped towards Ella Morris’ direction, allowing her to strike a venomous volley which flew just wide of Yamashita’s top corner.

But, against the run of play, City scored with our first attack of the match following a well-crafted move down the right – allowing Fujino’s cross to be headed home by Miedema.

The Japan international played a neat one-two with Laura Blindkilde Brown – sending the winger down the right before her pinpoint cross was powerfully nodded into the back of the net by the WSL’s all-time leading scorer.

It represented the Netherlands international’s eighth goal in 12 outings since her summer arrival at the Club.

That somewhat knocked the wind out of Spurs’ sails following their breathless start and another City cross almost paid dividends when Leila Ouahabi’s ball from the left was headed over by Khadija ‘Bunny’ Shaw.

A rare missed opportunity by the Jamaican who has netted an impressive three hat-tricks against Vilahamn’s side - the most of any player against the same team in the competition’s history.

Spurs were then forced into making a substitution on the 30-minute mark when Martha Thomas was replaced by Olivia Holdt due to injury.

And the latter made her presence felt almost immediately when she broke into the box and lifted the ball to England, who found the roof of the net with an improvised effort.

The hosts then arguably finished the half the stronger of the two teams as Ashleigh Neville got the better of Casparij and teed up Charlotte Grant, whose dangerous cross was well cleared by Naomi Layzell before it could reach England.

And Spurs’ striker came close to finding her second of the afternoon on the cusp of the break when her header from a corner was cleared off the line by Miedema before Holdt fired over from close-range.

City had 18 players away on international duty across tournaments, friendlies and training camps and the taxing journeys from around the world looked to have sapped some of the energy out of our players on the first assignment back.

The Blues were then hugely let off when a ball over the top found Matilda Vinberg alone inside the box, but Spurs’ forward lashed her effort wide when she had time and space to line up her shot.

That seemed to spring fresh life into Taylor’s team and Yui Hasegawa’s curled attempt towards the top corner was grabbed by the grateful Lize Kop before City thought we had regained the lead.

From a corner, Miedema again met the ball with a powerful header which flew past Kop but Neville was on hand on the line to scoop the ball onto the cross bar with her right foot.

Blues players were adamant it had already crossed the line, but the referee and assistant were unmoved and the scores level.

That rise in temperature sprung the game into an end-to-end contest and Spurs came close on two occasions when England nipped in ahead of Aleixandri and fired over the bar before Grant’s effort followed the same trajectory.

With the clock approaching the final 10 minutes a draw looked increasingly likely, before Fujino scored a phenomenal goal which regained our lead.

The winger and Hasegawa combined wonderfully down the right before the 20-year-old collected the ball, flicked it onto her left foot and rifled it into the top left corner.

It was a goal fit to win any game and City held on for three precious points in the capital.

PLAYER OF THE MATCH: AOBA FUJINO

Fresh from helping Japan to SheBelieves Cup glory during the international break, Fujino maintained her fine form with a goal and an assist in the capital.

The February Etihad Player of the Month nominee was the instigator of most of our fine attacking play and deserved the winner for her continued sparkling displays since the turn of the year.

HOW WE LINED UP

Taylor made three changes from the XI who started our 4-0 win over Liverpool before the international break.

Ayaka Yamashita’s goal was protected by Kerstin Casparij, Naomi Layzell, Laia Aleixandri and Leila Ouahabi.

Yui Hasegawa anchored our engine room with Laura Blindkilde Brown and Vivianne Miedema playing further forward than the Japan international.

The front three was then spearheaded by Khadija ‘Bunny’ Shaw with Kerolin Nicoli on the left wing and Aoba Fujino on the right.

Spurs XI: Kop, Grant, Morris, Bartrip, England (C), Vinberg, Thomas (Holdt 30’), Buhler, Spence, Summanen (Rybrink 66’), Neville.

Unused substitutes: Heeps, Nilden, Naz, Oroz, Csiki, Ayane, Gunning-Williams.

City XI: Yamashita, Casparij, Layzell, Aleixandri (C), Ouahabi, Hasegawa, Blindkilde Brown (Roord 69’), Miedema, Fujino, Kerolin Nicoli (Park 69’), Shaw (Fowler, 69’).

Unused substitutes: Keating Wienroither, Prior, Oyama, Murphy, Davies.

WHAT IT MEANS

The win over Spurs moves us up to third in the WSL table on 31 points – albeit having played a game more than fourth place Arsenal.

WHAT’S NEXT

It’s a quick turnaround for City who return to the capital on Wednesday 5 March to lock horns with West Ham.

Kick-off at Chigwell Construction Stadium is set for 19:00 (UK) and there will be comprehensive coverage of the WSL clash on mancity.com and our official App.

In general, the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium has not been a happy hunting ground for the Blues and Spurs have been something of a bogey team for City over the years.

But this would be a confident and deserved win for Pep’s men.

Our Pitcam highlights feature unusual angles and moments unseen by the broadcast cameras.

Watch the game again through fresh eyes, with the players, supporters and major incidents up close and personal.

See Erling Haaland’s winner - and his second effort late on that was ruled out but perhaps should have been allowed to stand - plus everything else besides.

Watch our latest Pitcam via your CITY+ subscription by playing the video above.

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After missing our last two games, Haaland needed just 12 minutes to open the scoring.

He was found brilliantly by Jeremy Doku, who rolled the path into his path just six yards out for Haaland to stroke into the corner.

It made him just the second player in Premier League history to hit 20 goals in his first three seasons in the English top-flight.

City dominated the rest of the first half and should have extended our lead, but some determined last ditch defending kept the margin to one.

It meant an inspired Ederson performance was required in the second period to earn all three points, with the Brazilian making six saves including a stunning late stop from Heung-min Son.

In the end, the Blues claimed a hard-fought victory to move back into the Premier League’s top four.

Having missed last week’s defeats against Real Madrid and Liverpool, it was a reminder of the impact our clinical finisher can make.

Spurs 0-1 City | Guardiola reaction

He even thought he’d put the icing on the cake in the dying moments after stroking past Guglielmo Vicario but he instead saw the strike ruled out for handball.

City could easily have put the game beyond Spurs in the first half but were instead forced to work hard for a clean sheet and the three points as the hosts improved after the break.

Ederson demonstrated what has made him one of the Premier League’s finest goalkeepers for seven-and-a-half seasons with a string of superb saves to keep the hosts at bay.

The win moves us back into the top four of the Premier League with 11 games remaining.

After four successive league defeats without a goal at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium following its opening, we have now been successful on our last two trips to the top-flight’s newest venue.

City travelled to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium seeking to get back to winning ways after back-to-back losses against Real Madrid and Liverpool.

With the race for a top four Premier League finish and with it a guaranteed place in next season’s Champions League hotting up, it was another crucial clash for Pep Guardiola‘s side.

But with Spurs seeking a fourth successive league win and playing on home soil it promised to be a testing assignment.

Spurs had already recorded two wins over City this term in the Carabao Cup and in the league at the Etihad - but City travelled down to London seeking a result that help avenge those two defeats.

How would it play out this time?

Watch the full-match replay at the top of the page...

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Choose monthly and pay £4.99 a month with the option to cancel anytime.

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That's all from me after a really satisfactory night.

A 1-0 win at Spurs, back into the Premier League top four and a goalscoring return for Erling Haaland.

That's a decent night's work in anyone's book!

We'll have highlights and a full match replay on our app and mancity.com from midnight.

And we'll be back on Saturday four our FA Cup fifth round clash at home to Plymouth, kick-off 5.45pm.

As always many thanks for your company tonight and see you on Saturday.

We were better in the first and they were better in the second. 1-0 2-0 3-0 that should have happened because of the chances.

Never ever can you stop playing. Always you have to play and make long actions.

Teams play so high it can happen. Always its a lesson when you stop to do it anything can happen.

We are happy. Important three points, that's what we need.

I think Jeremy did a really good game and he should have had more assists. It was a great goal and good to get the ball from Jeremy.

It’s not easy to know when to get the ball, it was lucky as well with the deflection.

The Uzbek defender, who joined the Club in January, put in a brilliant display to help us to a clean sheet in Wednesday’s narrow victory at Tottenham Hotspur.

Erling Haaland‘s goal proved to be enough for the three points in north London, with City dominating the first half but failing to capitalise on our chances.

The hosts grew into the match in the second period and a solid defensive display, including six Ederson saves, was required to earn the win.

Just six games into his City career, Khusanov is already impressing Guardiola with his attitude as well as his skillset.

“Today he travelled without a brush and his washbag. Nothing. He arrived here to play football,” said the boss in his post-match press conference.

“What I like is that he is already incredible for the dressing room,” said the boss in his post-match press conference.

“Today he travelled without no toothbrush and his washbag. Nothing. Arrived here to play football.

“When you talk to him he just laughs, laughs, laughs all the time but he is a reliable player.

“So fast, so quick, quality with passes is extraordinary. He breaks the lines. He has the ability to do it. He has to improve but he’s 20.

“I’ve seen players with a lot of pace but he is one of them.

“People adore him. He is silent, no complaints and so humble and I’m sure our fans will love him.

“It’s not easy to overcome after what happened after five minutes against Chelsea but he was calm and he handled it.

“The games he’s played recently, he’s been really, really good.”

Fit again and restored to the starting line-up after missing the last two games, the Norwegian struck in decisive fashion on 12 minutes to register his 20th Premier League goal of the season.

He latched onto Jeremy Doku’s inviting cross and drilled home an instinctive first-time finish that ultimately proved decisive.

Haaland thought he had wrapped up victory late on when he had the ball in the net again only for referee Jarred Gillett to rule the effort out for handball, a decision upheld after a lengthy VAR check.

Nevertheless, it was a crucial win for City, moving us back into the top four – and the boss was quick to acknowledge its significance as well the exciting potential of our young attacking line up.

“In the second half we suffer but we should have closed it in the first. But for Champions League qualification, it was an incredibly good result for us,” Pep reflected.

“Eddy was good. The defending was good, Ruben and Khusanov was extraordinary, Josko and Matheus again and in the end a good result for us.

“For sure [the goal] it’s the future. We have a young, young team.

“The three up front is the future. Nico when Rodri come back will be the future. Khusanov, you have seen it today and Josko is young.

“Bernardo, Gundo and Kevin and the other ones are still really important. It’s a question of time and new acquisitions we will do in the summer have to lead the club for years.”

Aside from Haaland’s strike, City also carved open several other excellent opportunities to add to our lead in what was an impressive first half display.

However, we had to withstand periods of Spurs pressure after the break with player of the match Ederson making several key saves, the most notable a brilliant block to deny Son Heung-min five minutes from time.

The boss said the second 45 minutes was a timely reminder of the need to never drop our guard.

“We were better in the first and they were better in the second. 1-0 2-0 3-0 that should have happened because of the chances,” Pep added.

“Never ever can you stop playing. Always you have to play and make long actions. Teams play so high it can happen.

“Always it’s a lesson when you stop to do it, anything can happen. This season after we draw or lose the games many, many times and hopefully we can improve.”

The prolific striker needed just 12 minutes to find the bottom corner from Jeremy Doku‘s deflected cross, and saw a late strike ruled out for handball, as City claimed three important points to move back into fourth place in the table.

MATCH REPORT: TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR 0-1 CITY

Haaland missed two matches with a knee problem after feeling some discomfort during the 4-0 victory over Newcastle United earlier this month, but returned to be the match-winner at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

“Yeah, important win and happy to be back,” declared Haaland in his post-match interview with City TV.

“Yeah, it’s good to be back. I feel good. Of course it’s been a tough last few weeks but that’s life. You have to look forward, you have to keep going. And you have to stay positive because we can still manage to do things.

“We should have scored more goals and I think we should have finished the game. But this is what happens. In the end it’s a difificult game but we managed to win and that’s really important.

“Clean sheet and to win the game is amazing. So we’re all happy.”

The striker also spoke about the importance of our goalkeepers after another stellar display between the sticks by Ederson.

The striker returned to the City team after missing two matches due to injury and took just 12 minutes to get back on the scoresheet, coolly slotting into the corner for his 20th league strike of the campaign from Jeremy Doku’s deflected cross.

With that goal, our No.9 became only the second player ever to score 20+ goals in each of his first three Premier League seasons, striking 36 times in his first season, before reaching 27 in 2023/24.

MATCH REPORT: TOTTENHAM HOSTPUR 0-1 CITY

Pep Guardiola’s men now have three wins in our last five league outings and sit in fourth place in the table, as Haaland reiterated the importance of the victory.

“Happy. [It’s an] important three points, that’s what we need,” he said in an interview after the match.

“Yeah I think Jeremy [Doku] did a really good game and he should have had more assists today. It was a great goal and good to get the ball from Jeremy.

“It’s not easy to know when to get the ball, it was lucky as well with the deflection there.”

The striker also became just the second player in Premier League history to score 10+ goals both home and away in three separate seasons.

PICTURE SPECIAL: Haaland strike sinks spurs!

Despite the impressive individual numbers and records, the Norwegian insisted that his mind and body is solely focused on success for the team.

“Of course it’s nice to hear that now obviously, but again, when you’re in the moment you don’t really think of it,” he said.

“In my first season at City it was all talk about most goals in a season but I couldn’t think of that because all I wanted was to win games and win the league. So of course it is nice to hear it after but that is not my focus.

“My focus is to help the team win, I know it’s boring but it’s true. Of course, it’s nice to score goals. We win and that’s what really matters.”