Manchester City took on Tottenham in the Premier League on Wednesday night in a bid to strengthen their top four hopes
Manchester City bounced back from defeats to Real Madrid and Liverpool with a morale-boosting win at Tottenham – led by returning striker Erling Haaland.
Back after missing those two losses with a knee injury, Haaland converted Jeremy Doku’s cross just ten minutes in to get back to scoring ways in a dominant first half from City. Haaland could have had a hat-trick but had to be content with one, despite seeing a second goal disallowed in stoppage time.
Tottenham hit back in the second half but City defended well thanks to some good Ederson saves and cleverly saw out the win.
This is how we rated the players at Tottenham:
Ederson
Stayed alive to tip a Kevin Danso header over the bar in first half injury time, followed by some brilliant goalkeeping as Spurs improved after the break and peppered City’s goal. One fine stop from Son late on – City’s unsung hero. 8
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Matheus Nunes
Restored to right-back, Nunes inverted forwards to support the attack but couldn’t quite find the final pass. Both Haaland and Guardiola scolded him at half-time for one overhit cross, which he made up for with a goal-saving interception later. 7
Ruben Dias
Back after a tactical omission vs Liverpool, Dias kept things simple and helped Khusanov. Exactly the kind of response Guardiola will have been looking for. 7
Abdukodir Khusanov
A shaky start but recovered well and showed why he is the only centre-back to start against Spurs, Liverpool, Newcastle, Real Madrid and Chelsea. 6
Josko Gvardiol
Less attacking than usual with Doku the threat on the left. Nevertheless, a good chance to showcase his defensive abilities which often go forgotten. 6
Mateo Kovacic
A better performance as he finally got a defensive midfield partner in Nico Gonzalez. But still not perfect and guilty of giving possession and fouls away in dangerous areas. A missed opportunity. 6
Nico Gonzalez
This is the Gonzalez Guardiola signed – a box-to-box performance and he constantly kept the ball moving towards the dangerous Doku. He even gave some attitude back to Guardiola when substituted. 7
Omar Marmoush
Always running, closing down and chasing lost causes. His harrying turned defence into attack for the first goal and he did the running so Haaland and Doku could take advantage. A self-less performance. 7
Jeremy Doku
Alexander-Arnold on Sunday, Pedro Porro on Wednesday. Doku had the beating of Porro every time and got the assist for Haaland. His end product can still be better – yet he was a threat all night and is in fine form. 8
Savinho
Helped create the overloads for Doku to shine while also offering a threat of his own on the right, playing a key role in Haaland’s goal. The Doku-Savinho wing partnership might be the way forward now both are back fit and firing. 7
Erling Haaland
Recovered from his knee injury, Haaland wasted no time in getting back to goalscoring business and could have had more. His fury at Nunes showed a player keen to make up for lost time, and his build-up play was notable, too. 8