It was another evening of frustration for Manchester City, who were held to a 2-2 draw by Tottenham Hotspur at the Etihad on Saturday.
After a quiet, goalless first half, City got two goals in the space of five minutes. Both goals came from inexplicable, schoolboy errors from Spurs skipper and goalkeeper Hugo Lloris. The goals were scored by Leroy Sane and Kevin de Bruyne.
Spurs kept coming at City, who unsurprisingly saw more of the ball. Dele Alli, after netting a brace earlier in the month against Chelsea, pulled one back with yet another smashing header. Son Heung-min made it 2-2 after being set by Harry Kane’s exquisite back-heel pass.
City came close on a couple of occasions in the first half. Sergio Aguero took a touch too many after racing ahead of the Spurs defence. Raheem Sterling also threatened the goal but his finish lacked finesse.
The major talking point of the game involved the Liverpool winger, who was racing away towards goal, only to be shoved at the back by Spurs’ right-back Kyle Walker. The referee didn’t call for a foul and Sterling, thrown off balance, shot straight to Lloris’ waiting hands.
It would have been a red card on another day for Walker, who got away with a blatant foul. A minute later, Son scored at the other end to twist the knife into City.
City are now only two points ahead of arch-rivals Manchester United. Spurs lie six points behind Chelsea in second place. The table-toppers face Hull City on Sunday.
Brief score
- Manchester City 2 (Leroy Sane, Kevin de Bruyne) draw with Tottenham Hotspur 2 (Dele Alli, Son Heung-min)