Dominic Booth
2026-02-01 17:59:00
Key events
I’ve had yet another email telling me I don’t understand the meaning of Spursy. I can only apologise.
80 mins: This is the kind of Premier League football match that makes any kind of prediction or analysis look immediately stupid, so I’m now keeping my counsel until the final whistle.
The only thing that looks guaranteed is an exciting final 10 minutes plus stoppage time.
An email from Kári Tulinius
I’d be furious if I were a fan of the Sky Blues. City should’ve put this game to bed in the first half, but they didn’t press their advantage and now they’ve seen a two goal lead vanish. Pep out? He’s got infinite credit in the bank, but maybe it would be best for everyone if he went on a long vacation.
77 mins: Lovely feet from Archie Gray almost creates another Spurs chance but City get the bodies back in the end.
It’s end to end now. Semenyo and Haaland still look a threat .. and wow Reijnders directs a header just wide latching onto Bernardo’s cross.
76 mins: The best City can manage right now is a hurried clearance into touch from Rodri.
Simons has turned on the style in this second half. He’s pulling all the strings for Tottenham.
Someone took issue with my use of ‘Spursy’ before. I guess true Spursy behaviour would be for them to lose this 3-2 after all this effort …
It doesn’t look likely the way they’re playing right now. Simons arcs a brilliant shot at goal which has Donnarumma sprawling once more.
74 mins: Donnarumma sticks out a leg and makes a vital save from Odobert. Spurs have all the momentum now, all the energy. And the stadium has finally come alive!
73 mins: Do I delete all my first half updates because they are now rendered useless and silly? Or does it all still stand and should Tottenham have produced this kind of stirring display earlier on?
My head is spinning with confusion.
It’s an inventive and instinctive finish from Solanke, almost a scorpion kick to direct Gallagher’s cross into the top corner of the net. Donnarumma had no answer to it.
Goodness me, what are we witnessing here?
GOAL! Tottenham 2-2 Manchester City (Solanke, 71)
WOULD YOU BELIEVE IT?!
Solanke has had a hand in another goal and, out of nothing, Spurs are level in this football match!
69 mins: It looks like Pep is going to respond with some tweaks of his own.
Cherki has taken a knock and will hobble off. He’s had a cracking game, but Tijjani Reijnders will take his spot. Nico Gonzalez replaces Aït-Nouri, which will mean O’Reilly shuffling across to left-back.
Two Tottenham changes: Bissouma and Kolo Muani and replaced by Tel and Odobert. Yeah, Spurs fans cannot have any complaints with Frank’s substitutions there.
67 mins: This is just totally different to almost everything we witnessed in the first half. Simons nearly picks out Solanke but overhits his cross, Donnarumma can catch.
66 mins: Kolo Muani needlessly bundles Cherki over when Spurs were in an attacking position. I don’t want to be mean and single players out … but he’s been so poor today.
64 mins: Tottenham’s best chance is definitely via those long searching balls up to Semenyo, but they still have a problem in midfield where City are getting acres of space.
Kolo Muani wants a penalty after going down in a duel with Nunes. He gets the next best thing instead: a corner.
62 mins: “Come on City,” is the cry from the travelling Sky Blues. Semenyo wins a corner for them off Palhinha.
60 mins: Tottenham would be wise to take a minute, ensure their shape remains solid and hold off this City riposte. They have a foothold in a game when their opponents really should be out of sight. They cannot waste this.
58 mins: Hold that thought. Spurs are over-committing and City will feel this is the perfect chance to pounce and make it 3-1. Gray makes a vital clearance under pressure.
Guardiola has been booked for protesting. He thinks the goal ought to have been a foul on Guéhi.
56 mins: City, all of a sudden, are irked. They’re committing silly fouls, they’re complaining to the referee and they can’t string their passes together.
Football is a really strange sport sometimes.
54 mins: Are Spurs going to make me and all their critics look very silly and storm back into this game?
It looks far more likely now than it did a few minutes ago, that’s for sure.
It’s great centre-forward play from Solanke to shake off Khusanov and bundle home the finish – it may actually have come off Guehi, so it will probably count as an own goal.
VAR is going to take a look at this. A foul from Solanke, or offside? It doesn’t matter as the goal is quickly given.
GOAL! Tottenham 1-2 Manchester City (Guéhi OG, 53)
Solanke capitalises from a mess in the City defence to reduce the arrears for Tottenham! Hope!
It actually goes down as a Marc Guéhi own goal.
52 mins: The first proper save for Donnarumma! Suddenly Spurs resemble a football team, after good play from Gray pushing forward from right-back. It eventually falls for Udogie to sting the palms of the City goalkeeper.
The resulting corner sees Dragusin, unmarked, head into a melee of players, with the home side maintaining the pressure.
50 mins: Udogie gets to the byline and sends in a cross that worries City momentarily. It wasn’t fully cleared and Gallagher was lurking to send a shot towards goal, but the former Atletico man couldn’t control the long-ranger.
Solanke grabbed Khusanov around the throat and went rightly into the book, in a second scuffle between those two players.
48 mins: There’s a coming-together between Solanke and Khusanov that has left both men writhing around in pain on the ground. Looks like the Spurs man has earned the free-kick.
There are swathes of empty seats in the stadium. Have people left early? Or are they just staying in the warmth of the concourse for an extra beer?
46 mins: It’s a four-man defence for Spurs now, with Palhinha and Dragusin the centre-back duo and Sarr slotting into midfield with Bissouma and Gallagher.
City have a corner straight away after the restart, which is scrambled clear.
We’re back under way for the second half.
A defeat here would mean Tottenham have won just two of their past 15 games in the league, and one in the last nine. They are still eight points above the relegation zone but Manchester United, Newcastle and Arsenal are their three next games.
Pape Sarr has replaced Romero at the break, with the Argentine presumably injured.
Some emails re Spurs:
Peter Crosby: “Horrible team selection, garbage formation, utter carnage. I can’t remember a worse team performance from Spurs since that thrashing at Newcastle under Stellini. We are a shambles. We need Tel and Odobert on, and I think Kolo Muani can go to Juve. Bissouma should not be in a Spurs shirt again.
Andrew Herrup: “As a Spurs fan it’s obvious our manager and players are out of their depth. But the rot really starts at the top with a clueless board whose January transfer one-liner is “we tried hard to buy Semenyo,” who of course was destined to score against us.”
Jamie Redknapp in the Sky studio said “City have been wonderful”. They really haven’t… but they haven’t needed to be. A wonderful City side would be leading 5-0 or 6-0 right now.
Here are your reports from the earlier games in the Premier League.
I really am struggling to understand that Spurs performance. Can someone enlighten me? How on earth can a team of top internationals play so poorly?
I get why the fans are disillusioned but the whole thing feels bizarrely flat.
HT: Tottenham 0-2 Manchester City
Name me a more Spursy half of football. My email inbox is open.
A feeble half of football from the hosts who are already staring at their 10th league defeat of the season – and it’s only just February. City deservedly lead and Spurs’ players trudge off the pitch to a chorus of boos. Well, kind of. Even the boos are halfhearted.
45 mins + 2: Manchester City have not had to be anywhere near their best to lead 2-0 in this game. They’ve actually been a bit scruffy on the ball at times. Pep Guardiola will probably feel his team have another gear or two to reach.
It’s astounding how poor and lifeless Spurs have been.
After being found by Bernardo, Semenyo had all the time in the world to lift that ball past Vicario into the corner… although he botched his cartwheel celebration, so that’s a mark against his name.
Four minutes of added time to come.
GOAL! Tottenham 0-2 Manchester City (Semenyo, 45)
City work it smartly across to Aït-Nouri, who skews a volley – a difficult chance to be fair – off target.
But it soon comes back for City and for Semenyo to score under almost no pressure. My word.
43 mins: Thomas Frank’s Brentford were so bold, so brave, so engrossing to watch because of the variety they showed in their attacks. His Tottenham team are the polar opposite in so many ways.
41 mins: My Sky stream cut out momentarily just then. I guess its trying to send me a message about how I spend my time.
IT’S FOR WORK.
40 mins: Rob Jones shows Simons a yellow card, I think for dissent. The Dutchman is trying, bless him, but looks a bit hapless without much attacking support. There’s also something about him that means he always looks on the verge of tears, but he can’t help that I guess.
38 mins: Xavi Simons had about three chances to shoot just now and refused every one of them. It’s inevitable when he’s eventually crowded out.
City’s level has also dropped in this game. Both teams are slugging it out – and not in a good way.
36 mins: Rodri drifts a nice looking ball towards the back post where Haaland was looking but Dragusin does well to shepherd it out.
Here come Spurs on the front foot – they are ironically cheered by their fans for actually attacking – but Guehi slides in to get it back for City.
33 mins: Simons plays a good ball into the inside-right channel to find Kolo Muani but the French forward can’t square it back for Solanke.
A bit better from Spurs now. Just a bit.
Sam (who is presumably a Spurs fan) emails me:
I’ve heard the suggestion that Spurs let teams past to stop Arsenal winning the league before. Personally, honestly, I’d rather Arsenal (a team that has earned their status as a serious team through good management over generations) won than City, a team with no pedigree of achievement who bought the league.
(These are Sam’s views by the way)
31 mins: A game low on quality is not being helped by the refereeing. Rob Jones has blown his whistle too often for very soft fouls, so we’re not even getting any rhythm, let alone tempo to the contest.
30 mins: Half an hour gone and Spurs have created 0.05 xG from one shot, the Simons free-kick that was hit tamely into City’s wall.
1-0 is flattering the home side as things stand.
28 mins: It’s so quiet in the stadium you can hear the players shouting, a la the Covid era matches.
The ball just keeps coming back at Tottenham every time they try to clear their lines and formulate an attack.
25 mins: Randal Kolo Muani is a France international of 31 caps – and nine goals. He was in the PSG side for a while. He looks completely lost in this Tottenham team.
That mazy run from Cherki was like something out of a school game when the kid in the local professional academy turns up and just bosses it. Vicario did make a brilliant save, actually.
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