Tottenham Hotspur defeated Manchester City 1-0 in North London to earn a crucial clean sheet and all three points. Tottenham scored in the 15th minute through Harry Kane, who was assisted by Pierre Emerick Hojbjerg, giving the hosts a 1-0 halftime lead. Man City substituted Debryune and Gundogan for Mahrez and Silva but were unable to equalize. Tottenham moved up to fifth place in the Premier League table with 39 points, while Manchester City remained second with 45 points.
Nottingham Forest defeated Leeds United 1-0 at City Ground Stadium to earn a crucial clean sheet and all three points.
Johnson's goal in the first half propelled Nottingham Forest to 13th place in the English Premier League table with 24 points, while Leeds United dropped to 17th place with 18 points.
CONTINUE READING-MORE NEWS
Guardiola rues missed opportunity as Kane dents Man City’s title bid
Pep Guardiola has admitted Manchester City's ability to defend the Premier League title has been dealt a blow after Harry Kane's record goal gave Tottenham a 1-0 win over the champions on Sunday.
Guardiola's side would have been two points ahead of leaders Arsenal had they won north London, but Kane's first-half strike made him Tottenham's all-time leading scorer with 267 goals - help the Gunners firmly hold control of the title race.
Second place is Arsenal five points, one game behind and host Guardiola's men on February 15.
It will be an unmissable clash for Man City if they have any hope of overhauling Mikel Arteta's side, which fell flat on Saturday as Everton struggled to secure a shock win. -0 against the Gunners.
Asked how frustrating it was to miss the chance to close the gap with Arsenal, Guardiola said:
"Yes, of course Arsenal have lost very few points so far and of course have chances. "It's important to stay close to Arsenal and go a long way away from fifth place in the table, where Tottenham are at the moment.
"We're not in a position to think about being champions."
Tottenham's lavish new stadium has been a terror to City since it opened in 2019.
They have lost in 5 away visits and are yet to score a goal there.
After controlling the ball early on, Man City's performance faded significantly after Kane's historic goal.
With Kevin De Bruyne on the bench for the first hour and Phil Foden absent due to illness, City lacked the creative quality to create opportunities for the Erling Haaland Kane had buried. Haaland, held up well by Cristian Romero to the Tottenham defender's late red card, failed to score for the first time since moving from Borussia Dortmund last season.
It was a disturbing sight for Guardiola, who has been criticized for knocking out Belgian midfielder De Bruyne for what he called 'tactical'.
'We're not the same'
With Joao Cancelo unexpectedly allowed to join Bayern Munich on loan last week, Guardiola once again used teenager Rico Lewis at left-back.
Lewis has huge potential, but his inexperience in the role Cancelo has honed as a defender with access to midfield is evident as Tottenham eased past him.
City's third consecutive defeat also called into question Guardiola's belief in disappointing Jack Grealish and centre-backs Manuel Akanji and Nathan Ake - both unable to repeat his formidable presence. Ruben Dias and Aymeric Laporte are both among the substitutes not being used. Guardiola has admitted his side's latest inconsistent performance is part of a disturbing pattern that City have failed to prevent throughout a campaign that threatens to come to an end.
"Of course I'm very grateful for these players. I always try to give my best, don't want to lose big but I know it," he said.
"I have said many times that I know we are not the same after many victories. Me too, I was the first to talk about it. “It doesn't matter what happened in the past or how successful we were. No, we have to try again. Now sad, tomorrow think.
Having won four trophies in the past five seasons, City look more vulnerable than at any time under Guardiola.
With their longtime rivals Liverpool languishing in 10th place, a change of Premier League defender could be imminent.
When asked about his ability to compete with City and Liverpool for major prizes when he was hired as manager of Manchester United,
blogpay
Total Comments: 0