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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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)
Hello and welcome to this evening's live coverage of the Monday Night Football here at The Independent.
Tottenham play host to Manchester City in what is sure to be a fascinating contest between two of the Premier League's top five.
The current champions are unbeaten this season with 7 wins from 9 games, despite being without Kevin De Bruyne for the majority of the season.
Spurs, meanwhile, are two points behind the Citizens, making their best start to a season 1963 but have lost two games, against Liverpool and Watford respectively.
With an hour to go before Kick Off, team news has been released and this is how Spurs line up this evening:
Meanwhile, City line up as follows, with De Bruyne still starting from the bench:
Given the circumstances of the weekend, football has of course taken the back seat and tonight's show opened with Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville offering their condolences to Leicester City following the tragic loss of Foxes chairman Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha in the helicopter crash outside the King Power stadium which also saw 4 other members killed.
The players joined fans alike this afternoon to pay their respects outside the stadium.
Getty Images
There was a special bond between players and owners at that club. Maybe one of the greatest achievements in the history of the game and what's happened in the last couple of days has clearly hit everyone, not just in Leicester but in the footballing world.
Jamie
It was definitely the greatest achievement in football history in this country. All the way through to the end you never though it was going to happen, you thought someone was going to catch them. It's been a devastating weekend and something that is going to take a long time to get over, particularly for the people in Leicester.
Gary
Looking back to tonight's clash, Mauricio Pochettino, the Spurs manager, has not held back with some of his pre-match comments:
The club is not focused completely on winning titles. The frustration is massive...My feeling is the worst feeling for four-and-a-half-years, even though it's the club's best ever start to the Premier League.
And our very own writer, Jack Pitt Brooke, here at The Independent has been looking ahead to tonight's game to see whether Spurs can stop the relentless City march?
It might not be a direct reference to today's match but one of Mauricio Pochettino's suitors, Real Madrid, are reportedly looking to replace Julen Lopetegui.
If, as Ed Malyon pens here, Real opt for a short-term option, could the Argentine be lured away to Madrid in the summer?
Gary Neville with... interesting words on Anthony Martial.
Some weeks I think he’s brilliant, other weeks I’m not sure he’s a Manchester United player... What drives me crazy about him is his off the ball work... He doesn’t know where to be and where to run at the right times.
I can't decide whether I like him or not!
He was the main man in yesterday's victory against Everton, scoring a wonderful goal to give United a two-goal cushion as well as winning the penalty which (eventually) gave United the lead. He certainly splits opinion though.
How highly do you rate the French forward?
Here's a snippet of what the boys discussed in the studio:
Guardiola has been speaking before tonight's kick off, addressing Riyadh Mahrez starting berth tonight despite the awful news regarding Leicester.
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