Tottenham Hotspur picked up a highly unexpected yet incredibly important victory against Manchester City in the first leg of the quarterfinals of the Champions League.
Son Heung-min’s second-half strike gave the hosts a 1-0 lead and a massive advantage to Mauricio Pochettino’s side ahead of the second leg at the Etihad next week.
The visitors got off to a bright start as skipper David Silva made a brilliant run between Toby Alderweireld and Kieran Trippier but his shot went wide from a tight angle.
City dominated the game as expected but Spurs looked dangerous on the counter-attack with Son and Harry Kane up top. Raheem Sterling looked bright for the visitors on their left flank as he cut inside to have a pop at goal but Danny Rose’s block sent the ball wide.
However, a VAR review showed that Sterling’s shot bounced off of Rose’s arm before going behind for a corner. After a long hard look, the referee pointed to the spot and Sergio Aguero stepped up.
The Argentine looked to add to his incredible goalscoring record but Hugo Lloris had other ideas as the Frenchman brilliantly saved the penalty. Spurs were let off the hook, thanks to their captain’s heroics and Pochettino’s side gained confidence from then on.
There was a shout for another penalty but this time at the opposite end as Harry Kane went down after claiming Otamendi’s arm hit his face. However, the referee waved the play on and the VAR team were happy with his decision.
Tottenham got into the game more as the game went on, with Eriksen combining well with his three attackers. The Dane was quickly involved after he took advantage of a foul on Alli but Kane’s shot on the turn from his pass was saved well by Ederson.
Aymeric Laporte was the first player to go into the book after his foul on Dele Alli outside the box. The resultant freekick was hit straight at Raheem Sterling but Eriksen blasted the rebound wide.
Sergio Aguero tried to redeem his penalty miss after holding off Vertonghen’s challenge but his shot went well wide of Hugo Lloris’ goal. Danny Rose had a chance from a freekick a few yards outside the box but his strike was saved comfortably by Ederson.
A pretty even first half came to an end as Manchester City, despite keeping hold of the ball well, failed to make an impact in Tottenham’s final third. Hugo Lloris was the hero as the teams went in after a goalless first half.
City started off the second half well as Raheem Sterling picked the ball up from the left flank and cut inside before having a pop at goal. But Lloris parried it into Alderweireld’s path and the Belgian cleared it.
Immediately after the save, Tottenham headed down the other end as Son Heung-min’s curling shot went inches wide of the post. Just like in the first half, Spurs got more involved as the game went on as Son was at it again but his shot was hit straight at Ederson this time.
The hosts had another chance as Harry Kane found some space on the right wing but his cross to Alli was caught by Ederson but the Brazilian had a painful landing, which stopped the game for a few minutes.
Fabian Delph went hard and successfully won a brilliant tackle on Harry Kane but his follow through made an impact on Kane’s ankle, which forced him out of the game.
The Englishman was replaced by Lucas Moura as Mauricio Pochettino expressed his anger on Delph’s challenge. Moura won a foul almost immediately which saw Riyad Mahrez get a yellow card for his efforts.
Sterling cut inside Trippier and slipped in a delightful ball for David Silva but the Spaniard failed to control the ball as it harmlessly went out of play. Replays showed that Silva was in an offside position and a goal wouldn’t have counted had he scored.
A disappointing night for Sergio Aguero came to an end as Pep Guardiola made his first change by bringing on Gabriel Jesus. The Brazilian almost made an immediate impact as Fernandinho’s pass saw him through on goal but the flag was up.
After a period of constant Manchester City possession, Spurs took the lead after a brilliant ball from Christian Eriksen was well controlled by Son, who after a bit of trickery, blasted home to give Spurs a 1-0 lead against the run of play.
Pochettino brought on Victor Wanyama to kill the game off in place of Harry Winks who had a decent outing. Pep Guardiola played his final cards by bringing on Leroy Sane and Kevin de Bruyne to get something off the game.
De Bruyne had the final freekick of the game but his good effort was punched away by Lloris before Fernandinho headed the free ball over the bar.
Spurs successfully saw out the game and now take a hard-fought lead to the Etihad next week where they will be hoping to seal the tie.
Here’s how some Tottenham fans reacted to the outstanding victory on Twitter:
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