Manchester City 4-1 Tottenham: Ilkay Gundogan, Kevin De Bruyne and Raheem Sterling strike as Pep Guardiola's side continue incredible unbeaten run
- Manchester City continued their unbeaten run in the Premier League, toppling Tottenham at the Etihad
- Pep Guardiola's side opened the scoring after Ilkay Gundogan headed home Leroy Sane's corner
- Kevin De Bruyne made it two for City with a thunderous left-footed effort on the 70-minute mark
- The Belgian then won a penalty but Gabriel Jesus hit the post with Raheem Sterling missing the rebound
- Sterling made up for it inside the final 10 minutes, tapping home a simple effort before scoring again for 4-0
- Christian Eriksen grabbed a late consolation goal for the visitors from range deep into stoppage time
Now they have all tried and now they have all failed. There are five other heavyweights in the Premier League who purport to chase the title and who were supposedly going to make this season more competitive than ever.
We had told ourselves that only England could boast so many teams which could genuinely contend for the top spot, unlike those continental European leagues where one super team meant it was often all over by Christmas.
But Tottenham really were our only hope after Manchester United meekly surrendered last Sunday. After all, last season it was Mauricio Pochettino who had halted the Pep Guardiola bandwagon and such was the jolt in the road that City never really got going again.
Raheem Sterling arrives at the far post to tap home in the closing stages and secure another win for Manchester City
Moments earlier Kevin De Bruyne had won a penalty after going down under the challenge of Jan Vertonghen
But Brazilian starlet Gabriel Jesus was unable to convert from the spot and saw his effort crash against the post
Pep Guardiola lets the emotion seep out after realising his side are on course for yet another crucial victory
Goalkeeper Ederson celebrates with the supporters behind his goal as City bag their second of the match
Kevin De Bruyne crashes an effort into the roof of the Spurs goal to put City 2-0 up following a slick counter-attack
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MATCH FACTS, LIVE TABLE AND MATCHZONE
MAN CITY: Ederson, Walker, Otamendi, Mangala, Delph, De Bruyne, Fernandinho, Gundogan, Sterling, Aguero, Sane.
SUBS NOT USED: Bravo, Danilo, Bernardo Silva, Gabriel Jesus, Zinchenko, Toure, Foden.
BOOKED: Otamendi, Delph
GOALS: Gundogan 14, De Bruyne 71, Sterling 81, 90
TOTTENHAM: Lloris, Trippier, Dier, Vertonghen, Rose, Dembele, Winks, Eriksen, Alli, Son, Kane.
SUBS NOT USED: Lamela, Vorm, Sissoko, Llorente, Foyth, Aurier, Davies.
BOOKED: Kane
GOAL: Eriksen 90+2
REFEREE: Craig Pawson (South Yorkshire)
Man of the Match: De Bruyne
Ilkay Gundogan bagged his first goal of the season by heading home Leroy Sane's corner. Click here for more from Matchzone
And with the genius that is David Silva missing this game, aspirations stirred of a contest. The more ambitious dreamed of a title race re-opened, though that might have been fanciful. Still, the eerie freezing fog swirling around the Etihad suggested something mystical. Perhaps we might at least see a team expose some weakness in this delightful City side.
By the end, though, as City stroked the ball around cutting swathes through a Tottenham team which had never been allowed a foothold in the game, it all seemed a little foolish. City simply cruised towards a new record 16th consecutive win, equalling Guardiola’s own record at Barcelona but still three short of the 19 consecutive wins he managed at Bayern Munich.
Like a long-distance runner so far ahead of the pack that the race is against the clock, you sense that City’s domestic motivations will have to come from such records and how many they can break. Arsenal’s Invincibles must surely be at the back of their minds.
But there is a long way to go. A Christmas programme can bring unexpected surprises. But with Kevin de Bruyne playing this well, with Leroy Sane running him close, with Ilkay Gundogan making light of Silva’s absence, all seems possible. Guardiola is never actually speechless but De Bruyne is edging him that way in admiration. He said: ‘When you see how he runs without the ball — one of the most talented players — he is a good example for the young players. They know how good he is and, when they see how he runs and fights without the ball, that is the best example.
The mercurial playmaker wheels away in celebration after putting City in the driving seat at the Etihad
An unmarked Ilkay Gundogan dives to make contact with Leroy Sane's corner and scores his first goal of the season
The Germany international peels away in celebration after breaking the deadlock in the crunch tie at the Etihad
Tottenham players stand around asking questions of one another as Gundogan celebrates with team-mate Fernandinho
Raheem Sterling rues a missed opportunity after blazing an effort over the bar following a save by Hugo Lloris
‘He helps us to be a better institution for the future because that is what we want to do. And his performance today? No words. I have no words to describe what he had done with the ball, how many assists, how many shots. And without the ball, he will make pressure from 40metres to the goalkeepers. When that happens the people behind say, “if that guy runs like this, I must run as well”.’
For Tottenham there was not much to take home, other than an lesson in how much more ground has to be made up. They pretty much gave up the challenge after just 14 minutes. Sometimes when you concede to this City side, they are so good in the execution that you can be phlegmatic.
But Tottenham were undone by a simplistic corner routine, with Sane delivering and Gundogan the unmarked midfield runner heading home. Life at the Etihad is difficult enough; conceding in that fashion makes it nigh on impossible.
‘If you concede after 14 minutes like this...’ said Pochettino. ‘Come on! We need to improve, we need to learn from this situation. Today was a very good example to see a team that believed and had quality.’
Harry Kane goes into referee Craig Pawson's booked following a heavy challenge winger Sterling
The rain and mist swirled down together at the Etihad in what were testing conditions for both sets of players
Kevin De Bruyne battles with Mousa Dembele in the heart of midfield as City look to assert their dominance early on
Pochettino would not acknowledge it publicly but privately he will surely take Dele Alli aside. The afternoon passed him by, as it did many of his colleagues. But his frustration was all too evident and he almost got himself sent off for a second-half challenge on De Bruyne, who was so riled he picked himself up and almost immediately scored the second goal.
But if you wanted to be positive about Tottenham, then after being outplayed in the first half they had a spell at the start of the second when they did take the game to City.
Nicolas Otamendi had to clear when Harry Winks, Christian Eriksen and Harry Kane combined in the 49th minute and Son Heung-min was poorly served by Kane’s over-hit pass in the 50th minute, though that was all too typical of the team’s sloppy passing.
When Kieran Trippier sprinted past Fabian Delph a minute later and earned a free-kick, it was the first time Tottenham had managed to expose one of the obvious weaknesses in City’s back four. In the 54th minute, Kane struck a shot from 20 yards which Ederson did well to push wide.
Manchester City made their way into the tunnel area first, led by Argentine striker Sergio Aguero and Kyle Walker
Tottenham midfielder Eric Dier stopped to take pictures with waiting fans at pitchside in the hours before kick-off
Father Christmas turned sky blue for the afternoon as one City fan got into the festive spirit for the occasion
A festive scene set outside the Etihad Stadium as fans began to make their way inside for the evening kick-off
But City were still the real danger and in the 70th minute they sprung a counter attack, with Fernandinho starting the move on the edge of his box which, via Gabriel Jesus and Raheem Sterling, found Gundogan, who delivered one of those passes on which De Bruyne thrives. He sprinted away, clean through and, though Hugo Lloris could get a hand to his fierce shot, he could not stop it doubling City’s lead.
City should have gone 3-0 up when Jan Vertonghen felled De Bruyne in the box in the 75th minute but Jesus hit his penalty against the post and Sterling lifted the rebound over. But Sterling got his goal just five minutes later. De Bruyne probed, Gundogan steered and Sane crossed into Sterling’s path so he could to tap home for 3-0.
Tottenham heads were spinning and the final humiliation came in the 89th minute, when Eric Dier missed a Bernardo Silva through ball and Lloris, spooked by the presence of Sterling, let it run through his legs. Sterling could simply run it into the net, a little embarrassed at the ease of it all.
There was a footnote from Christian Eriksen who, in time added on, made it 4-1. But it was an utter irrelevance.
