Manchester City 1-2 Tottenham Hotspur : Five Talking Points

Tottenham Hotspur deepened Manchester City’s league woes after a stunning 2-1 win at the Etihad to do the double over the Skyblues for the first time since 2011/12 season.Just hours after Arsenal's win over table toppers Leicester City by an identical scoreline, the game gained more significance as the teams were handed a chance to trim the gap at the top. The Lillywhites emerged as the unexpected beneficiaries as they reduced the distance to just 2 points in second place.Following a dour opening half, in-form striker Harry Kane put the visitors ahead from 12 yards early after the restart, only for Kelechi Iheanacho to draw level midway. And just when it seemed the sides would share the spoils, Christian Eriksen popped up with the winner 7 minutes from time.The win consolidates Spurs’ position in second, whilst City are left rooted in fourth. Here are some of the lessons learnt from the high-profile clash.

#1 A tale of two halves

Harry Kane sparked the game into life

Billed as one of the season-defining games, Manchester City against Tottenham Hotspur, the league’s fourth versus the second, was expected to be an end-to-end stuff with teams going full Hammer and Tongs. But contrastingly, it got off to a cagey start.

The opening 45 minutes lacked any sort of goal-mouth action as the sides were running short of flair in the final third and tread dangerously on the borders of mediocrity. The match headed into the break goalless, but returned with a different saucepan of salmon.

If the first stanza was dour and dull, then the second was equally compelling and congenial. As both sides attacked at full pelt, the game burst into life and the first piece of drama arrived when the visitors won a dubious penalty. 

Once Kane buried the ball into the back of the net, it would only get more and more riveting with each passing minute.