Tottenham Hotspur 2 - 0 Manchester City
There is no doubt that one of the most attractive sports battles this weekend in international football was going to be the duel between Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City, who faced each other in London. The twenty-fifth matchday of the Premier League had produced exciting matches, especially the clash between Leicester City and Chelsea. Also, the game between Manchester United and Wolverhampton Wanderers at Old Trafford could not be overlooked, which marked the debut of Bruno Fernandes with the 'Red Devils'.
Riyad Mahrez and Sergio Agüero approached Hugo Lloris' goal in the early stages of the match, but they were not very accurate. On the other hand, Son Heung-min tried to make a counterattack, but it was perfectly repelled by the defense of the current British champions. The controversy would arise just before the quarter-hour mark, at which precise moment Raheem Sterling's tough tackle on Dele Alli could have been punished with a straight red card. However, the referee (at the request of VAR) did not consider that action excessive enough to make such a punishment.
Both goalkeepers were more than attentive and focused on anticipating the long passes from their opponents, while Lloris had to intervene against a long-range shot from Kevin De Bruyne. The clearest opportunity would come from a combination between Mahrez and the 'Kun', remembered by the Atletico Madrid fans, although the Argentine's shot would hit the woodwork directly (it seemed that Lloris touched it). Sterling tried to take advantage of a through pass by İlkay Gündoğan, but the Spurs defense was providential in stopping the former Liverpool player.
Shortly afterwards, the VAR confirmed to the referee a penalty for a tackle by Serge Aurier on Agüero, as the former PSG player brought down the international 'killer' of the Argentine national team. However, Hugo Lloris would get the better of Gündoğan in the penalty, even though the City players requested a possible new penalty considering that the World Cup-winning goalkeeper with the French national team in Russia 2018 had committed a punishable action on Sterling. Likewise, the 'Kun' had a golden chance, but the shot went wide.
STEVEN ON HIS DEBUT!!!
#THFC 1-0 #MCFC pic.twitter.com/Xn7pEzeDbT
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) February 2, 2020
The decision that would determine the outcome of the match occurred in the hour of play when Oleksandr Zinchenko had to stop a textbook counterattack in the midfield. That's why the referee showed him the second yellow card, and he had to leave the field early. Consequently, Steven Bergwijn (formerly of PSV Eindhoven), one of Tottenham's reinforcements in the winter transfer market, would find the back of the net guarded by Ederson Moraes with an unstoppable shot from outside the area (1-0).
Jose Mourinho's team virtually sealed the match with less than 20 minutes remaining, as Tanguy Ndombélé served the ball to Son to score the 2-0 with a fantastic strike. The emotional blow would be even greater for Pep Guardiola and his team due to Sterling's injury, who could not finish the match and was replaced by Bernardo Silva. With this victory, Tottenham reaches 37 points, while Manchester City remains with 51 in their tally.
SONNYYYYYYY!!!!
#THFC 2-0 #MCFC pic.twitter.com/V917cZhRkU
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) February 2, 2020