Tottenham vs Manchester City: Riyad Mahrez's early strike hands visitors victory at Wembley
Re-live all the action from Wembley Stadium
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Your support makes all the difference.Manchester City ploughed their way through a sticky Wembley pitch and back to the top of the Premier League with a 1-0 win over Tottenham.
The playing surface at the national stadium was in a poor condition due to Sunday’s NFL game between the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Philadelphia Eagles but that did not bother City as Riyad Mahrez’s sixth-minute goal proved enough.
Pep Guardiola’s men were not at their vintage best but still had chances to have made it a more comfortable evening, with Mahrez, Raheem Sterling and Sergio Aguero all denied.
Still, it was an eighth win from 10 Premier League games this season and they leapfrog Liverpool at the summit on goal difference.
It was Tottenham’s first return to Wembley since the announcement that they would be staying there until at least January and they suffered a first loss in five games.
Boss Mauricio Pochettino will point to a glaring miss by Erik Lamela in the final 10 minutes but in truth they never really had the cutting edge to hurt City, who posted a sixth successive clean sheet.
Re-live all the action below:
What time does it start?
Tottenham vs Manchester City kicks off at 8pm
Where can I watch it?
The match will be shown live on Sky Sports’ Premier League and Main Event channels from 7pm. Sky Sports subscribers can also stream the match online via the SkyGo app. The match is also available on Now TV by grabbing a Sky Sports Day Pass for just £7.99.
Highlights will be shown at 9:30am on Sky Sports Premier League.
It’s a big game for…
Hugo Lloris: The World Cup winner is undoubtedly delivering sub-par performances following the heights he achieved this summer with France. The 31-year-old was sent off against PSV Eindhoven in midweek following a foul on Chucky Lozano, and it was not the first error of this kind this season after his part in Philippe Coutinho’s opener at Wembley in Barcelona’s win earlier this month. On current form it looks likely it won’t be his last, and the goalkeeper has come in for subsequent criticism, so he will need to put on a good display against one of the league’s most potent attacks.
Weird stat…
Six: Manchester City are unbeaten in six Premier League matches in London. That run has seen them win on each of their last four trips to the capital, and should they win on Monday they will become the first non-London side to win five matches in a row there.
Remember when…
One of the most iconic goals of FA Cup history came in this fixture 37 years ago. The 1981 FA Cup final was the 100th in the competition’s history but it ended 1-1 after extra-time, forcing the sides into a replay four days later. The replay produced a classic and with the score level at 2-2 with six minutes remaining, Ricky Villa brilliantly dribbled through the City defence before beating goalkeeper Joe Corrigan to score his second of the game and secure the cup for Spurs.
Player to watch…
David Silva – The Spaniard was behind everything positive coming in attack in the Ukraine and that was rounded off by his volley for the opening goal. Tottenham have not conceded in the league for over a month now and therefore City will need another marvelous performance from their magician if they are to force a result.
Past three meetings…
Tottenham 1 (Eriksen) Manchester City 3 (Jesus, Gundogan pen, Sterling), Premier League, April 2018
Manchester City 4 (Gundogan, De Bruyne, Sterling x2) Tottenham 0, Premier League, December 2017
Manchester City 2 (Sane, De Bruyne) Tottenham 2 (Alli, Son), Premier League, January 2017
Form guide…
Tottenham: WWLWWD
Manchester City: WWWDWW
Odds…
Tottenham to win: 10/3
Manchester City to win: 10/11
Draw: 13/4
(Odds provided by 888 Sport)
Dangerous play from Walker who heads it away with a bit of confusion.
Huge win for Manchester City at Wembley and for the most part, they were comfortable.
It is now six consecutive clean sheets, too, for the Citizens so it's not just their attacking threat which is causing problems for the teams in the rest of the Premier League.
Tottenham definitely had chances of their own with Kane's in the first half and Lamela's in the second the standout moments.
But City could've put the game to bed plenty of times themselves and kept the ball masterfully at times.
They're imperious when they pass the ball and their ability at winning it back is also second to none.
Thank you for joining us here at The Independent for all the live action this evening as Tottenham and Manchester City brought an end to what has been a difficult weekend for football fans across the globe.
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