TOTTENHAM’S title hopes were kept alive with a valiant fightback against Manchester City this evening as Gabriel Jesus saw his late debut goal dramatically ruled out for offside.
Spurs trailed by two goals early in the second half but shocked the hosts as they bounced back to nick a point.
Such was City’s domination in the first half that Mauricio Pochettino was forced into an early substitution at the break.
But it wasn’t until the 49th minute that City took the lead thanks to exciting German winger Leroy Sane.
Kevin De Bruyne’s lob from deep was met by Spurs goalie Hugo Lloris but the Frenchman inadvertently headed the ball against Sane’s hand, allowing the youngster to tap into an empty net.
Tottenham’s woes quickly doubled when De Bruyne helped himself to City’s second just four minutes later, with Lloris at fault again.
The flapping shot-stopper managed to pounce onto a cross from Raheem Sterling before spilling straight into De Bruyne’s path and giving the Belgian his first league goal since September.
But Tottenham showed they weren’t ready to surrender just yet when Dele Alli scored his 12th goal of the season moments later.
Kyle Walker picked out the attacking midfielder with a terrific cross, with Alli’s header flying past Claudio Bravo into the back of the City goal.
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The Etihad faithful soon found themselves screaming for a penalty after Raheem Sterling appeared to be bundled over by Danny Rose, but replays showed the Spurs left-back had in fact pulled off a textbook tackle to save his team from conceding yet another.
The winger then seemed to be pushed in the back by Kyle Walker while attempting to fire past Bravo in the penalty box with 15 minutes remaining.
Pep Guardiola showed his fury as the ref continued play and City soon paid the ultimate price as Son Heung-Min quickly went up the other end to score Tottenham's equaliser with a neatly curled finish.
Jesus was soon introduced to the City fans and made an immediate impact with a dangerous cross before going close with a looping header.
The Brazilian's dreams then came true when he fired in City's third goal of the evening but his celebrations were quickly crushed as the linesman flagged for offside.
FACTS, STATS, GOALS AND LOLS
- Guardiola has insisted Gabriel Jesus can play in the same side as Sergio Aguero - the most lethal forward the Premier League has ever had according to the stats.
- Yet of his last 39 goals, only two of them have come against teams in the top six - does that make him a flat track bully?
- Tottenham's seven game winning streak was seriously threatened in the first half as City had 11 shots but failed to take one chance.
- Leroy Sane must wish he could play teams from North London every week - he scored a vital equaliser against Arsenal - that was on December 18 but was his last game.
- All eyes were on Claduio Bravo after his nightmare at Everton last week - so how ironic it should be his opposite number with the error.
- His second error was even worse - dropping a Raheem Sterling cross at the feet of Kevin de Bruyne who tapped in.
- Dele Alli's goal - his eighth in his last seven appearances - was his team's first effort on target of the game. Sound familiar City fans?
- Bravo had little chance with it to be fair - but it's now 15 of the last 23 efforts on target have gone past him.
- And when Son Heung Min scored to make it 2-2 towards the end.....you know the rest.
- Tottenham will be praying the injury to Toby Alderweireld is not a bad one - having just lost Jan Vertonghen for six weeks. They ended up playing with Victor Wanyama as a makeshift centre back.
THE BIG PICTURE
Man City next five fixtures
Crystal Palace (A): 28 Jan – FA
West Ham (A): 1 Feb – Prem
Swansea (H): 5 Feb – Prem
Bournemouth (A): 13 Feb – Prem
Monaco (H): 21 Feb – CL
Tottenham next five fixtures
Wycome (H): 28 Jan – FA
Sunderland (A): 31 Jan – Prem
Middlesbrough (H): 4 Feb – Prem
Liverpool (A): 11 Feb – Prem
Gent (A): 16 Feb – EL
DREAM TEAM RATINGS
Man City: Bravo 5, Zabaleta 7, Otamendi 6, Kolarov 7, Clichy 6 (Stones 6), Toure 6, Sane 7, De Bruyne 8, Silva 7 (Delph 6), Sterling 6 (Jesus 5), Aguero 7
Subs not used: Kompany, Fernando, Nolito, Caballero
Goals: Sane 49’, De Bruyne 53’
Booked: Kolarov, Otamendi
Tottenham: Lloris 5, Walker 7, Dier 6, Alderweireld 6 (Winks 6), Wimmer 6 (Son 7), Rose 7, Wanyama 6, Dembele 7 (Sissoko 6), Eriksen 6, Alli 6, Kane 6
Subs not used: Vorm, Trippier, Davies, Carter-Vickers
Goals: Alli 57’, Son 77’
Booked: Dier, Wimmer, Alli, Wanyama
STAR MAN: Kevin De Bruyne
WHAT THEY SAID
Tottenham forward Son Heung-Min: “In the first 10 minutes of the second half we conceded two goals but we came back stronger.
“That is our character. Our mentality is strong and everyone wanted to get a point. I’m really happy with the result.”
Tottenham defender Kyle Walker: “I think we can adapt our style to all situations. We’re taking every game as it comes. We’re not worried about others, we’ll do our job and see where it leaves us.”
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