Manchester City Put Their Champions League Quarter Final Knock Out Disappointment Behind Them And Take Their Turn Again At The Top Of The Premier League Again. Match Highlights. Player Ratings. Manager Comments And Stats.
By: Marc Gingell
Fresh from his away goal Champions League defeat to Tottenham on Wednesday Pep Guardiola decided to freshen things up and threw in 18 year old Phil Foden in for only his 2nd Premier League start. Five minutes later Foden scored his first Premier League goal and Manchester City were on their way back to the top.
Match Details
| 20-04 | Etihad Stadium | Manchester City (2) | 1-0 | Tottenham Hotspur (3) |
| KO:12:30 | ATT: 54,489 | Phil Foden 5′ | ||
| REF: M Oliver | ||||
Phil Foden
At the end of May Phil Foden, born in Stockport, Greater Manchester, will be 19 and he’s been part of Manchester City’s machine since the age of eight. City paid for his private education at St. Bede’s College.
For England, he’s played at all youth levels from under 16 to 21 scoring 15 goals in 42 appearances. At under 17 level, City’s secret, scored twice in the final of the World Cup as England beat Spain and he won the best player of the tournament. He also won the FIFA Under 17 World Cup Golden Ball award. With the press attention that followed Foden’s talents reached a far bigger audience.
Pep Guardiola – July 2017
“It’s a long time since I saw something like this. His performance was another level. He’s 17-years-old, he’s a City player, he grew up in the academy, he loves the club, he’s a City fan and for us, he’s a gift.”
Keeping Manchester City Premier Title Hopes Alive!
Foden has since started a few cup games for City and made his full Premier League debut against in City’s 2-0 win against Cardiff on April 4th, 2019.
Bernardo Silva, the man of the match in this game and a constant threat as he dropped his shoulder and kept gliding past Tottenham players, received a pass from Kyle Walker on City’s right. Tottenham players gave him far too much time and space to drift inside and float a perfect cross, towards the six-yard box, at the back post.
Sergio Agüero, also with plenty of time, planted his header back across the six-yard box where Foden finished with a diving header from two yards. City, as in so many games recently, had the advantage of an early goal.
90 Minutes Later They Still Did!
Heung-Min Son tested City with his pace and forced Ederson into good saves. One run, from inside his own half just before half time, ended with Ederson smothering his shot when a pass to Lucas Moure might have been a better option. Christian Eriksen also had a good chance when through on Tottenham’s right and might have fared better if he’d fallen when Aymeric LaPorte tried to pull him back.
Bernardo Silva also had claims for a penalty, when he could have been tripped by Jan Vertonghen, and Deli Alli believed Kyle Walker had handled in the box.
Next season VAR will no doubt review all three of those incidents!
Kevin De Bruyne
Kevin De Bruyne limped out of the action just before half-time and it will be interesting to see what kind of impact he can make for the rest of the season.
Treble Still On
For City the treble is still on and, at the end of the game in a nice gesture, Bernardo Silva handed his man of the match award to City’s match winner Foden.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiSxkAh488c
Player ratings
Man City: Ederson (8), Walker (6), Stones (6), Laporte (8), Zinchenko (6), Gundogan (6), Foden (7), De Bruyne (6), B. Silva (9), Sterling (6), Aguero (6).
Subs: Fernandinho (6), Sane (6), D. Silva (n/a).
Tottenham: Gazzaniga (6), Foyth (7), Sanchez (6), Alderweireld (6), Vertonghen (6), Davies (6), Dier (6), Alli (6), Eriksen (7), Moura (6), Son (7).
Subs: Rose (5), Wanyama (6), Llorente (5).
Man of the Match: Bernardo Silva.
Opta Stats
- Manchester City have won 25 home games in all competitions this season, the most they’ve ever won in a single campaign and the most by an English top-flight club since Man Utd in 2010-11 (26).
- Tottenham have lost five successive Premier League away games for the first time since May 2004, a run of six under manager David Pleat.
- Man City have won their last 10 Premier League games – their longest streak since a run of 18 between August and December 2017, which remains the all-time top-flight record.
- Tottenham have lost 11 Premier League games this season, as many as they had in their previous two campaigns combined (4 in 2016-17, 7 in 2017-18).
- Phil Foden scored his first Premier League goal for Man City, becoming the third youngest player to score in the competition for the club (after Micah Richards and Daniel Sturridge).
- Bernardo Silva was directly involved in seven of Manchester City’s 15 shots in this match, having three attempts and creating four.
- Tottenham have lost a Premier League game without Harry Kane taking part for the first time since October 2017 at Manchester United.
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