Manchester City were held to a 2-2 draw by a resurgent Tottenham Hotspur at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday evening in the Premier League.
The Citizens, who were coming on the back of a 3-0 mauling at the hand of Everton last weekend, showed great character and dominated the first-half completely with Kevin De Bruyne and David Silva pulling the strings, but could not open the scoring. However, they did not have to wait long, as just four minutes after the break, Leroy Sane pounced upon a mishit Hugo Lloris clearance to walk the ball into an open net for his second goal for the club. Pep Guardiola’s men doubled their lead soon after, as another mistake from Lloris allowed De Bruyne to score, doubling his team’s advantage.
Mauricio Pochettino’s men were not be bogged down, though, and four minutes later, their first clear-cut chance yielded a goal as Dele Alli halved the lead from inside the box. A moment of controversy would follow, when Kyle Walker appeared to have pushed Raheem Sterling inside the box when the winger was through on goal with only Lloris to beat, but referee Andre Marriner waved play on much to the anguish of Guardiola and City. Moments after, some fine play on the right-hand side saw Harry Kane teeing up half-time substitute Son Heung-Min inside the box, and the South Korean made no mistake and the scoreline read 2-2. Manchester City went all-out chasing the winner, but could not manage to breach Lloris’ goal again on the evening and had to walk away with just one point.
In what was an excellent performance from Pep Guardiola’s side, but without the desired result, let’s assess how each player fared:
Claudio Bravo – 6
Could not do much to keep the two goals out. But looked far more comfortable than usual, without much pressure on him as his team were on the front foot for almost the entire game. Swept up well inside the box and his distribution was good.
Pablo Zabaleta – 6
Raided forward very well from the right-flank and was solid enough defensively. Operated as an auxiliary midfielder each time City went on the attack. However, should have taken the chance in the first-half when he fired just wide.
Nicolas Otamendi – 7
Read the danger well and was there to thwart it always. Much improved performance after a nightmare against Everton last weekend.
Aleksandar Kolarov – 6
Sound defending from the elder statesman in the heart of the defence, but should have done more to stop Kyle Walker’s cross that set up the opener for Alli.
Gael Clichy – 5
The left-back continues to look suspect for City as he was continuously beaten for pace by Walker. Clichy afforded him way too much time and space to pick out Alli in the box.
Yaya Toure – 7
A strong showing by the Ivorian in the midfield. Used the ball efficiently and was also instrumental in keeping Alli quiet for much of the game.
Raheem Sterling – 7
Was a constant menace for Tottenham defence with his pace and trickery. However, again, the finishing touches were lacking. Should have had a penalty awarded, after being shoved by Walker in the box.
Kevin De Bruyne – 9
Simply outstanding. The Belgian was involved in everything positive for the Citizens on the evening and drove them forward with great intent. His delightful ball led to the mistake from Lloris leading to the opener, while he was on hand to capitalize on the second error by the Frenchman to double City’s lead.
David Silva – 8
Tested Lloris with a shot in the first-half. Pulled the strings from the midfield with some incisive passes behind the defence and excellent movement throughout the evening.
Leroy Sane – 8
The summer signing’s best display in a Manchester City shirt till date. Always a threat in the attacking third with his pace and dribbling abilities while he also performed his defensive duties admirably. Scored his second goal for the club after latching on to Lloris’ poor headed clearance.
Sergio Aguero – 6
Did not look very sharp but did pose a problem on a few occasions and got close to goal but was hesitant to pull the trigger.
Substitutes
Gabriel Jesus – 7
What a way to introduce yourself! The latest addition to the City squad came on for Sterling in the 83rd minute and with his first touch, he almost set up a goal from a lovely cutback. His second touch ended up in goal and he wheeled off in celebration only for the goal to be chalked off for offside. If these are the signs of things to come, City have a super talent at their hands.
John Stones – NA
Replaced Clichy in the 84th minute. Not enough time to be rated.
Fabian Delph – NA
Came off the bench to replace Silva for the injury time.