Harry Kane broke the all-time scoring record for Tottenham as a 1-0 home win over Manchester City handed Arsenal a huge boost in the Premier League title race.
Leaders Arsenal’s 1-0 defeat at strugglers Everton on Saturday offered City the chance to cut the gap to just two points, but Spurs did their north London rivals a favour a day later.
Kane’s cool 15th-minute finish, which also marked his 200th Premier League strike, took him past Jimmy Greaves onto 267 goals for the hosts, who defended resolutely to see out victory despite a late red card for Cristian Romero.
Spurs, without head coach Antonio Conte after gallbladder surgery, moved within a point of the top four, while City trail Arsenal by five having played a game more.
Manuel Akanji could only head straight at Hugo Lloris after five minutes with a presentable chance as City – who opted to start without Kevin De Bruyne – enjoyed a dominant opening.
But Spurs struck first against the run of play as Pierre Emile-Hojbjerg nipped in front of Rico Lewis before offloading to Kane, who finished into the bottom-left corner for a historic goal.
Jack Grealish curled narrowly wide and Riyad Mahrez’s fizzing close-range effort was denied by the crossbar as City searched for a response before the interval.
Pep Guardiola sent on De Bruyne for Mahrez before the hour and his short free-kick teed up Julian Alvarez, whose arrowing drive was thwarted by Eric Dier’s goal-line block.
Alvarez whistled another thumping effort narrowly wide soon after and, although Romero was dismissed after picking up a second booking for a foul on Grealish, City were ultimately frustrated as their title tilt hit a stumbling block.
Tottenham Hotspur player ratings
GK: Hugo Lloris – 6/10 – Commanded his area well and wasn’t a liability.
CB: Cristian Romero – 7/10 – Outstanding before his sending off. Completely shut down Haaland.
CB: Eric Dier – 8/10 – Similarly excellent from a player who has often wilted in big games like this over the course of the season.
CB: Ben Davies – 8/10 – Completely untroubled regardless of who he was up against.
RM: Emerson Royal – 8/10 – Got the better of his duels with Grealish, and though still lacked a little quality on the ball, this could be forgiven.
CM: Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg – 7/10 – Did well to set up Kane’s opener and put in a real shift.
CM: Rodrigo Bentancur – 6/10 – Dribbled his way out of trouble on a consistent basis though his final pass was lacking.
LM: Ivan Perisic – 6/10 – Nearly played his way into trouble at times but was largely solid, the inverse of his performance in the reverse fixture.
RF: Dejan Kulusevski – 6/10 – Slowed down plenty by Ake and Lewis but still gave Man City headaches.
LF: Son Heung-min – 6/10 – Looked ever so sharp when carrying the ball up the pitch but remained hesitant when it came to getting shots away.
CF: Harry Kane – 8/10 – Record-breaker, history-maker. Dropped deep and showed off his full range today.
Substitutes
Ryan Sessegnon (79′ for Perisic) – N/A
Yves Bissouma (84′ for Son) – N/A
Davinson Sanchez (88′ for Kulusevski) – N/A
Manager
Cristian Stellini – 8/10 – Superbly handled the game in the absence of the ill Conte.
Manchester City player ratings
GK: Ederson – 6/10 – Made a few decent saves and his long kicks threatened to stretch the game.
RB: Kyle Walker – 6/10 – Kept his cool on his return to north London.
CB: Manuel Akanji – 6/10 – His pace proved a valuable asset in races against Son and Kulusevski.
CB: Nathan Ake – 6/10 – Was also able to break up Spurs counters with his quickness.
LB: Rico Lewis – 6/10 – Tucked into midfield and gave Kulusevski a good battle.
RM: Riyad Mahrez – 5/10 – So nearly scored one of the goals of the season, but routinely failed to get the better of Davies.
CM: Rodri – 4/10 – His sloppiness changed Man City’s afternoon. Again punished for a lack of concentration.
CM: Bernardo Silva – 3/10 – Offered very, very little. Easy to forget he was playing.
LM: Jack Grealish – 4/10 – Often left frustrated by his battles with Emerson.
CF: Erling Haaland – 3/10 – Shut out of the game by Romero.
CF: Julian Alvarez – 5/10 – Slightly more effective than his quiet strike partner, but not by much.
Substitutes
Kevin De Bruyne (59′ for Mahrez) – 5/10
Ilkay Gundogan (84′ for Silva) – N/A
Manager
Pep Guardiola – 4/10 – Is it really that hard to win at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium?
