Manchester City FC

Jahmai Simpson-Pusey’s first league goal of the campaign was an important one. He fired City ahead at the start of the second half after a difficult opening 45 minutes.

Divin Mubama quickly made it two for City on 54 minutes after he converted the penalty he won seconds before.

They would prove to be the defining moments in the match as City confirmed all three points to stay at the league summit and record our first clean sheet since November.

WHAT HAPPENED

Another chilly evening under the lights at the Joie Stadium awaited as City welcomed Spurs to Manchester for our 15th game in the Premier League 2.

A slightly different team was prepped and ready to go in the hope of picking up a third successive win after a positive league performance at Blackburn and a penalty shootout triumph at FC Midtjylland.

After an initial stalemate in the opening eight minutes, Spurs’ Rio Kyerematen was unchallenged in the centre of the City box and headed Oliver Irow’s cross but Oliver Whatmuff watched the ball confidently roll wide of the left post.

Almost every attack City tried to carve out, as Wilkinson’s side grew into the game, saw McAidoo unleashed down the right-hand side. But Spurs’ high line made it difficult for City to find space to play with.

After our opponents enjoyed a short spell, a low driving cross from the left by full-back Max Robson was met by a first-time effort from Tyrese Hall but the Spurs forward lent back in the action and sent his strike high over the crossbar on 17 minutes.

AMax Alleyne follow Irow’s movement well to block his close-range shot after a quick counter from our opponents which was orchestrated through the middle of the pitch on 28 minutes as Spurs pushed for an opener.

The chances were sparse for Spurs as we approached the half-hour mark but City struggled more to register shots on target. It seemed it would take something special to break through an organised Spurs defence.

City’s best chance came on 32 minutes when Seb Naylor made a fantastic run forward to collect Lawrence’s throw-in near the corner flag. The left-back fired an effort goal-bound from the byline and the ball almost snuck past Aaron Maguire as it rattled the post to deny City the opener.

Wilkinson’s side began to force Spurs back further into their half as the break approached. Oboavwoduo won a free-kick 25 yards out and Charlie Gray went straight for goal from the set piece. The midfielder was unfortunate to watch his effort curl away from the top left corner.

Quick link-up between Lawrence and Oboavwoduo saw the latter find space on the left after the former drifted inside with the ball. Oboavwoduo crossed the ball into the centre of the box but Mubama’s glancing header went too far right.

The game began to open up for both teams with play moving from one end of the pitch to the other in seconds.

Another City chance saw McAidoo’s goal-bound effort blocked by Tyrell Ashcroft. It was a clean left-footed half-volley after Lawrence’s cross from the left-hand side flew past a sea of bodies around the penalty spot.

Spurs were next to try their hand at breaking the deadlock. Whatmuff spilled Kyerematen’s effort but was quick to react and regain the ball despite a handful of shirts in front of him. Just seconds later the City ‘keeper was called into action again, this time getting low to deny Leo Black to complete a tense and evenly contested opening 45 minutes.

It was the perfect start to the second half with City finding the back of the Spurs net after just 102 seconds.

Gray won a free kick in the attacking third and after receiving the set piece back from McAidoo, the holding midfielder curled the ball towards the back post.

And waiting to nudge the ball into the bottom right corner with a first-time finish was captain Simpson-Pusey who bagged his first league goal of the 2024/25 season.

It was the boost of confidence City needed after a difficult first half. Five minutes later Lawrence looked to tee up Mubama with a low cross but the City striker was brought down in the box with referee Paul Cooper instantly pointing to the penalty spot.

The number nine took his time and converted the spot kick, straight down the middle, to double City’s lead with his third goal in four PL2 games in blue.

Oboavwoduo almost made it three with a composed right-footed effort, from the edge of the box, which curled just wide of the right post after more clinical and quick build-up play by City. He later almost teed up Christian McFarlane, in his PL2 debut, but the former’s cross was just a couple of inches outside of McFarlane’s reach on 70 minutes.

Oboavwoduo, showing his versatility as a number 10 against Spurs, carried the ball confidently before curling a similar effort onto the right post six minutes later as City continued to find a moment to put the game out of reach for our opponents.

Lawrence was next to test Spurs’ shot-stopper Maguire on 83 minutes. After mesmerising trickery in the box, the winger fired a shot goal-bound but saw the effort palmed away by the ‘keeper. His follow-up effort was then deflected out for a corner which Spurs did well to see out of harm’s way.

Mubama almost secured a brace after he was played in behind Spurs’ defence by Naylor. The striker opted to go low but Maguire read the chance well and his outstretched foot denied City a third with less than five to play.

At the other end of the pitch, City’s backline held strong to see out the match and pick up our first clean sheet since November as we maintain our place at the PL2 summit.

HOW WE LINED UP

From Youth League to PL2, Oliver Whatmuff started again for Ben Wilkinson on Monday evening.

In front of Whatmuff, Lakyle Samuel, Max Alleyne, Jahmai Simpson-Pusey and Seb Naylor were City’s back four.

In the engine room, Charlie Gray, Jaden Heskey and Justin Oboavwoduo made a dynamic trio in the centre of the pitch.

Divin Mubama led City’s attacking line and was joined by Emilio Lawrence and Ryan McAidoo on either flank.

CITY XI | Whatmuff, Samuel, Alleyne, Simpson-Pusey, Naylor, Gray (Okeke 77’), McAidoo (McFarlane 61’), J. Heskey, Mubama (Henderson-Hall 90+3’), Oboavwoduo, Lawrence.

UNUSED SUBS | Hudson, Mfuni.

SPURS XI | Maguire, McKnight (Rowsell 73’), Robson, Ashcroft, King, Russell-Denny (Cassanova 73’), Akhamrich (Williams 61’), Kyerematen (Ajayi 61’), Irow, Hall, Black.

UNUSED SUBS | Bloedorn.

WHAT IT MEANS

City’s EDS stay top of the PL2 table with five games left to play before the knockout stage of the competition.

UP NEXT

A quick turnaround awaits Wilkinson’s squad who travel to Middlesbrough in our next Premier League 2 assignment.

Kick-off in our 16th league game is scheduled for 19:00 (UK) on Friday 21 February.

News about Man City v Spurs

Watch City's Premier League 2 clash with Spurs live on CITY+

Fans with a CITY+ subscription will be able to watch our Elite Development Squad take on Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League 2. Read more

Clean sheet really important ahead of upcoming games, says Wilkinson

Lead Coach Ben Wilkinson says our clean sheet triumph in the Premier League 2 was ‘very important’ ahead of our final few league games. Watch more

Extended highlights: City 2-0 Spurs - Premier League 2

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Full-match replay: City v Spurs - Premier League 2

Watch the full 90 minutes from our Premier League 2 home clash with Tottenham Hotspur on CITY+. Watch more

Simpson-Pusey analyses his vital first goal of the campaign

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Our game at the Joie Stadium is scheduled for 19:00 (UK) on Monday 17 February with every kick available to watch live for those with a CITY+ subscription.

A win over Spurs could secure City’s place in the knockout stage of the PL2 with our opponents on a slightly different path of looking to break into the top 16, the play-off places.

But with every match a difficult test in the PL2, our home tie will undoubtedly be another exciting watch on Monday 17 February.

Until then, check out the highlights from our last league win...

CITY+

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

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We welcome our opponents to the Joie Stadium for a 19:00 (UK) kick-off on Monday 17 February.

As the end of the league phase approaches in the competition, Ben Wilkinson‘s squad will be looking to confirm our place in the top 16 with a positive performance against Spurs.

City currently sit at the league summit with our visitors in need of three points as they chase the knockout places.

With that in mind, the PL2 clash points towards an exciting match-up in Manchester.

And those with a CITY+ subscription will be able to watch all the action unfold live on mancity.com and the Official Man City App on Monday 17 February.

CITY+

CITY+ is available via an annual subscription of £34.99 a year, saving you £24 on our monthly offering.

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

Official Cityzens and Season Ticket Members can subscribe annually for £30 a year, a saving of £29.

Ticket Information

The Club has received an allocation of 667 tickets, including 5 wheelchair bays and a number of tickets for ambulant supporters.

All tickets for this fixture will be issued as Print@Home. Tickets will be emailed to the lead purchaser approximately 5 days prior to the fixture. Tickets can either be printed or scanned on a smart device.

The Club has received an allocation of 5 wheelchair bays and an allocation of seating for ambulant disabled supporters. Qualifying supporters will also be allocated a complimentary personal assistant seat, should they be eligible. Qualifying disabled supporters can purchase online as follows.

Wheelchair Users – simply log in to your online account, select ‘Wheelchair Section’ and select the wheelchair bay you would like to sit in. Select the wheelchair bay, as this will also allocate the personal assistant to the basket. Within the basket, you can then change the owner of the second ticket to your personal assistant.

Ambulant Disabled – once logged in to your account, select the block you would like to sit in, and the quantity of seats you require.

If you have a specific seating requirement or need general access advice for Gaughan Group Stadium, please contact the Access Team on +44 (0)161 444 1894. Read a guide to Gaughan Group Stadium here.

Find out everything you need to know about visiting Gaughan Group Stadium here.

As guardians of this great Club, we all have a responsibility to act as ambassadors of not only Manchester City, but also the City of Manchester. On your visit to Gaughan Group Stadium please respect the stewards and staff at the Club and we ask that you:

Remain in the seat that you have purchased.

Keep your ticket with you at all times.

Do not block the aisles or gangways.

Do not smoke.

The use of pyrotechnics, flares and smoke bombs is strictly prohibited

Entry to Gaughan Group Stadium will be granted on the presentation of a valid ticket purchased from the Club. The Club excludes all liability to any supporter who is denied entry to Gaughan Group Stadium as a result of their ticket having been purchased through an unauthorised seller. The unauthorised sale or disposal of tickets may also amount to a criminal offence and the Club will inform the police as soon as it becomes aware of any unauthorised sale or disposal of tickets.

All tickets are sold subject to availability and are issued subject to Manchester City Football Club Limited’s 2024/25 Away Match Terms and Conditions of Sale and the applicable Ground Regulations of the opposing team.

It is important to note that tickets cannot be returned within 7-days of the match in line with our refund policy.

If you have not received your away match ticket on the last working day before the match, please contact Fan Support by calling +44 (0)161 444 1894 and we will arrange a ticket for collection at the away ground.

The ticket must be collected by the owner of the ticket with photo ID.

Fans who have an arranged collection will be sent information of how to collect their ticket.

The Club has received an allocation of 3,038 tickets, including 26 wheelchair bays and a number of tickets for ambulant supporters.

Please note that children aged 13 and under must be accompanied by an adult aged 18 or over when attending fixtures at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

This fixture is mobile tickets. Tickets will be sent out no later than 5 days before the fixture.

From this allocation, the following groups will receive tickets for this match: Season Ticket Members, Seasonal Hospitality Members, Owner, Board of Directors, Football Management, Players, Club Officials and Staff, Former Players, Club Partners, and the Man City Supporters Club.

We would like to remind supporters that we advise against booking travel or accommodation for fixtures until they secure a ticket. Fixture dates and kick-off times can change at any time.

That means the game at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium will now be played 19:30 (UK) on Wednesday 26 February. UK viewers can watch it on TNT Sports.

We won twice at the ground in 2023/24, claiming our first ever victory there with an FA Cup triumph in January 2024 before a vital three points in the penultimate game of the Premier League campaign.

It marks our third televised Premier League game of the month after the trip to Arsenal on Sunday 2 February and a home meeting with Liverpool on 23 February.

Stay across mancity.com and our official app for all ticketing and future fixture details for the remainder of the 2024/25 season.

As always, we’ll have full coverage of every men’s match day on mancity.com and our official app.

Matchday Live, our free City-centric show, starts as team news is announced and takes you all the way through the day –beginning with studio guests building up to the game before radio and text commentary takes over during the 90 minutes.

City won four of our fives matches in all competitions across November, qualifying for the knockout stages of the UEFA Women’s Champions League in the process.

The Blues were in European action on two separate occasions, getting the better of Hammarby home and away to seal progression from Group D with two games to spare.

CITY v UNITED | GET YOUR ETIHAD TICKETS

In the Barclays Women’s Super League, a disappointing defeat to Chelsea saw us beaten for the first time in 2024/25, but there were also impressive wins over Tottenham Hotspur and Crystal Palace to celebrate.

As always, producing a three-player shortlist for the final vote has been a difficult task, but we’ve gone for the below trio...

Jill Roord

Dutch international Roord’s return from an anterior cruciate ligament rupture in January has been nothing short of remarkable.

The midfielder started all three of City’s WSL matches in November, finding the net in each of the first two.

At Crystal Palace, Roord was in the right place at the right time to smash home the Blues’ second of the afternoon after a cleverly timed run into the hosts’ box.

VOTE FOR JILL ROORD

That goal capped off a dominant performance in the engine room, which the 27-year-old emulated against Spurs one week later.

Picking up play from Lauren Hemp, Roord flicked the ball away from a Spurs challenge before rifling in City’s third at the near post in a 4-0 win at the Etihad Stadium.

Alex Greenwood

City’s captain was probably unlucky not to be shortlisted for either September or October’s Etihad Player of the Month vote, such is her consistency in the heart of the Blues’ defence.

Once again though the England international stepped up when it mattered in November, featuring in all five of our fixtures.

VOTE FOR ALEX GREENWOOD

She was City’s standout performer at Chelsea and was pivotal in dragging the team through two difficult Champions League assignments against Hammarby.

A second leg win in front of over 20,000 hostile home supporters on an artificial surface and with a depleted squad wouldn’t have been possible without Greenwood’s leadership from the back.

The captain is one of only two players in the City squad - alongside Yui Hasegawa - to start all 14 of our matches so far in all competitions, such is her importance to this team.

Bunny Shaw

Another free-scoring month for our Jamaican, who was just beaten to October’s award by Hemp.

Shaw grabbed six goals in five outings for City, beginning with a clinical header to round off the scoring in a 3-0 win over Crystal Palace.

A hat-trick against Tottenham Hotspur followed, with the forward finding the net inside 21 seconds at the Etihad.

VOTE FOR BUNNY SHAW

Her latest treble saw her break the WSL’s hat-trick record, and the accolades kept on coming for Shaw.

Indeed, her brace in our 2-1 win over Hammarby to round off the month also ensured she moved top of the Club’s all-time scoring chart in the Champions League.

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It’s another tough decision, but who gets your vote?

Does Jill Roord deserve to prize? Will Alex Greenwood be your choice? Or is Bunny Shaw your worthy winner?

Voting is now open, so have your say below!

Manchester City’s 35-match unbeaten Premier League home run was brought to an end with a 4-0 defeat to Spurs.

An first half brace from James Maddison handed the visitors a two-goal advantage at the break which the Blues - despite registering 23 shots, couldn’t recover from.

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Pedro Porro’s strike inside ten minutes of the restart from a Dominic Solanke cutback added a third, before Brennan Johnson tapped home in stoppage time to complete the scoring.

It was a tough day at the office for City, but Rodri’s return to the Etihad ahead of kick-off, with his Ballon d’Or award, was a positive addition to an otherwise frustrating afternoon.

Watch immersive highlights from the day, including warm-ups, Rodri’s presentation and match action, via the Pitcam Highlights above on CITY+.

CITY+

CITY+ is available via an annual subscription of £34.99 a year, saving you £24 on our monthly offering.

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

Official Cityzens and Season Ticket Members can subscribe annually for £30 a year, a saving of £29.

It was a tough evening for Pep Guardiola’s men who were looking to bounce back on home soil after the November international break.

The Blues had John Stones, Manuel Akanji and Nathan Ake back from injury, the first two starting and the third coming on at the break while Rodri gave everyone a lift before the game after showcasing his Ballon d’Or trophy on the pitch.

And the Blues began the game strongly with Erling Haaland, Savinho and Phil Foden looking for a fast start but it was Tottenham who showed their clinical side with James Maddison’s brace putting the visitors two-up at the break.

There were further goals from Pedro Porro and Brennan Johnson in the second half on a difficult night for the champions.

It’s back to the Etihad on Tuesday for a Champions League clash with Feyenoord before we head to Anfield next Sunday for a Premier League encounter with the leaders.

City’s home loss to Spurs was our first in the league since November 2022.

On the back of four losses prior to the international break, it means the Blues have suffered five defeats in a row and the boss says the immediate focus is restoring some confidence with the Champions League game against Feyenoord to come on Tuesday evening.

“When you lose 0-4 there’s nothing to say except to congratulate Tottenham,” said Guardiola.

“We struggled a little bit to get back the balls. We were not able to win it, to give an extra action afterwards.

“We were quite decent; we created a lot. I would say we are quite fragile right now, that is obvious from the fact that we struggle today to score goals and when they arrive, they scored goals.

“We are playing a little bit in our thoughts, but it’s normal. Football is a sense of mood and when you win a lot it gives you the self-awareness that you can do it.

“And when you lose three in a row in the Premier League, that situation it’s always a little bit there.

“There are many things that are going to happen that we need to do to break the results as much as possible to get more positive and confident.

“At the same time, being here for eight years, I knew that sooner or later we would drop.

“Of course we never expect to lose three Premier League games in a row. In that time we always expected a drop, but we were incredibly consistent.

However, we cannot deny the reality that sometimes in football and sometimes in life it’s here.

“We are not used to losing so many games in a row. That’s happened. We have to do everything to change, especially the next one.

“The exception is the reality we lived for eight years is not determined. Sometimes it happens and sometimes you drop a little bit, it’s happened right now.

“In terms of the way we played, we were good in the first minutes and after the first chance they had in 13 minutes we concede a goal, and the chances were there.

“But then we conceded a transition from Spurs. They are so physical we know it, that’s why we thought to bring a game for the physical condition that we have from many players.

“A lot of midfield players, a lot of control, we cannot make up and downs because they are stronger than us.

“But at the end of the day, I would say that what we have done for many years here, it’s my way, the way I like to play, but now we have a period, you cannot run away.

“You have to face it and break the next game.”