In a thrilling match that had fans on the edge of their seats, Manchester City pulled off a magnificent comeback to secure a 4-2 victory against Tottenham at the Etihad Stadium.
The Blues recovered from conceding two goals in two minutes at the end of the first-half to produce a stunning second 45, repeating Tottenham’s feat by scoring twice in two minutes early after the break through Julian Alvarez and Erling Haaland.
Two more from the excellent Riyad Mahrez completed a superb comeback by City who had to dig deep to turn this game around.
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Pep Guardiola made five changes from last weekend’s Manchester derby, looking to freshen up his troops against an opponent City have struggled against in the past few seasons. Adopting a 4-2-4 formation, the boss wanted to see more action in the opposition box with more support for Erling Haaland. The Blues responded well, creating several half-chances in the opening period.
But the game took a bizarre turn in a three-minute spell just before the break, as City conceded two goals in first-half added time. The first was the result of a rare, misplaced pass by Ederson to Rodrigo on the edge of the City box, only for Bentancur to steal it off his toes and Dejan Kulusevski to slide the ball home. The second came as Harry Kane won a 50-50 tackle with Rodrigo, fired in a shot and Ederson’s parry was nodded home by Emerson Royal, leaving the Etihad and City players stunned.
However, the inspirational words from the boss at halftime seemed to work a treat, as City immediately attacked after the restart and scored two quick goals. Mahrez’s trickery and cross saw the ball eventually fall at the feet of Alvarez who thumped the ball into the roof of the net from eight yards out.
Just two minutes later, Mahrez met a lofted pass into the box with a headed cross that Haaland nodded in from six yards out. Mahrez was not done yet, and on 63 minutes, he had the goal his performance deserved, trapping a pass that looked almost impossible before gliding into the box, dropping his shoulder, and burying a right-foot shot inside Hugo Lloris’ near post.
The match continued with chances at either end, but City, inspired by some excellent performances all over the pitch, secured victory in the 90th minutes. Fittingly, it was the imperious Mahrez who raced clear, rounded Lloris and clipped the ball into the empty net to finally settle this absorbing encounter.
Star player of the match was Riyad Mahrez, who was unplayable at times and a joy to watch in this form. The win trims Arsenal’s lead down to five points, though the Gunners have one game in hand. City will host Wolves on Sunday with a 2pm kick-off (UK)or 4pm (CAT).
