Image Credit: Tottenham Hotspur
By Lee Clow 17 August 2019 | Premier League
Manchester City were once again denied by VAR in the final minute of the game as Spurs snatched a vital point at the Etihad.
Reminiscent of the drama that occurred in last season’s Champions League quarter final second leg between the two sides, Manchester City were again denied a winning goal right at the end after VAR intervened and adjudged Aymeric Laporte to have handled the ball before the lead up to Gabriel Jesus’ goal. Tottenham, who only managed 3 attempts on City’s goal, managed to hold on for a vital point after twice going behind to Raheem Sterling and Sergio Aguero.
The opening minutes of the game started off very slowly with both sides taking it cautiously knowing the quality each side had to possess. The home side soon began to take control and eventually found the breakthrough they deserved. Midfield maestro Kevin De Bruyne delivered a beautiful cross to the far post where the inform Sterling was there to meet and guide the ball into the corner of the net past Lloris. The goal was met by an uproar by the fans who clearly were not over their Champions League exit to Tottenham last season.
City’s lead was short lived however as Spurs found themselves level, 3 minutes after going behind. Buoyant after his debut goal last week against Villa, Tanguy Ndombele cleverly fed a ball into the path of Erik Lamela who struck from 20 years and placed his effort low into the far corner past the out of position Ederson. This was Tottenham’s first shot in the game, and it proved to be clinical for the North London side.
The Champions of the past 2 Premier League seasons did not let this sucker punch get to them as they continued to boss the game and create chances against a Tottenham defence that looked far from its best. City’s second goal soon came, and it was to no surprise that it was created once again by Kevin De Bruyne. The Belgium midfielder was played in on the right wing and on the by-line fired in a low cross to Sergio Aguero who’s toe poke guided the ball past Lloris in the Tottenham goal. City went into the break leading 2-1 with many fans calling the first half “The Kevin De Bruyne Show”. After the break, normal service resumed for Manchester City who pursued for a third goal to kill the game. Hugo Lloris was key for Tottenham staying in the game as he made 2 vital saves denying Oleksandr Zinchenko and Bernardo Silva.
In response to City’s pressure, Mauricio Pochettino decided to bring on Lucas Moura to inject pace into his Spurs side. This proved to be an inspired substitution as only 19 seconds after coming on, Moura rose the highest in a Spurs corner to nod his side level again at 2-2. As with their first shot on goal, Spurs’ second shot on goal proved to be clinical in the overall result.
The hosts once again hit back after the equaliser as they searched for the winner. Bernardo Silva came close to making it 3-2 when he struck the bar after hooking a rebound over Lloris. Sergio Aguero, to his annoyance with Guardiola, was subbed off for Gabriel Jesus late on in the game and this almost proved to be an inspired call as he scored what seemed to be the winner for the blue side of Manchester. In stoppage time, a corner was swept into the box and was met by Laporte who’s header fell to Jesus who managed to fire the ball through a crowd of players into the back of the net. The Etihad erupted in joy, but it was short lived as the goal was disallowed by VAR. VAR reviewed City’s goal and informed referee Michael Oliver that Laporte had handled the ball in the build-up of the goal. After the decision was confirmed on the stadium screens, the Spurs fans went into raptures just seconds after some had turned to leave the stadium. The City fans began to boo when the incident was repeated on the big screens while the Spurs fans began singing "VAR, my lord, VAR!" for the second time in five months at this ground as they escaped with a draw that must have felt like a victory.
The result for both teams leaves them with 4 points each in their opening 2 games of the season. Spurs will certainly feel better off with the result having had huge luck on their side throughout the game.
After the game, Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino spoke to Sky Sports about the VAR technology. "I am in love with VAR. I wasn't agreeing with it from the beginning when we started talking about it, but sometimes you get the benefit like today or in the Champions League...We can't stop the evolution of the technology, but it's difficult because we love football from 30 years ago when it was only the referee's decision. Some unfair things happened but across a season, you find a good balance...We are living in a different era, technology is in football now and we have to accept today it's a benefit for us, it will be against us and we have to accept it with patience and a good face.”
Pochettino’s opposite, Guardiola, also spoke to the press after the dramatic encounter between the two sides. "I thought we left that situation in Tottenham in the Champions League last season. But it is the same. The referee and VAR disallow it. It's the second time [it's happened] - it's tough. It's honestly tough but it's the way it is.”
What’s next?
Having held a draw against the champions, Tottenham will go into the next game in confident mood when they face Newcastle United at home on Saturday. For Manchester City, their opponents next week will be Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium where they will be looking to get back to winning ways in their pursuit of winning a third consecutive Premier League title.
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