Tottenham Hotspur’s visit to the Etihad was as action packed and dramatic as people hoped ahead of the weekend. With both sides vying for a top 4 position and potentially a league title, three points were absolutely huge for Guardiola and Pochettino.
The two managers will have to settle for a share of the spoils after some classy goals and calamitous goalkeeper led to a 2-2 draw.
Spurs will be the happier of the two sides given that at one point City looked like running away with it. At 2-0 down, there looked to be no way back for the Lilywhites.
Dele Alli and Son Heung-Min had other ideas though and their finishes past a helpless Claudio Bravo rescued a point for the visitors.
Both sides could now fall further behind Chelsea. The Stamford Bridge side host Hull at home on Sunday and must fancy their chances of extending their Premier League lead.
Here are FIVE images that summed up all the action at the Etihad…
Sensational Sane
Leroy Sane scored his second in two games for City having not featured for the club since the victory over Arsenal in December.
He again showed why City paid big money for him in the summer. He had a slow start to his career at the Etihad but if he keeps scoring and doing so in the big games then he will soon become a fans favourite.
The winger anticipated the ball well, capitalising on Lloris’ mistake to calmly tuck home and make it 1-0.
Delighted De Bruyne
Man City made it two when Hugo Lloris was again at the centre of a goalkeeping disaster and allowed Kevin De Bruyne to nip in and score his first Premier League goal since mid-September.
Like Sane, he showed good anticipation and composure and tuck it way.
You’d have thought it would be plain sailing for City from that point on but one man had other ideas…
Determined Dele
There’s no stopping Dele Allie right now and he showed again how lethal he is when given the slightest opportunity. His well taken effort dragged Spurs back into the game just when it looked like the match may slip away from them completely.
It was his eighth goal in seven matches. His scoring record is remarkable over the last six weeks or so and it’s showing no signs of slowing down.
Here comes the Son
Son Heung-Min has made an excellent impact for Spurs over the last month or so, scoring three goals in his last six appearances for the club. When you consider that four of those appearances were from the bench you can see why he’s quickly making a name for himself.
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His equaliser was expertly and clinically taken. Spurs didn’t have many chances across the 90 minutes but the ones they did have they took with aplomb.
Frustrated figure
Very few things went right for Guardiola’s side during the game with penalty shouts and offside goals leaving the Spaniard cutting an incredibly frustrated figure on the touchline.
The City boss has never had to endure a period like this in his career so far and must be wondering where it all went wrong after such a good start to the season.
He needs to start picking up wins fast. A few more draws or another loss could really pile the pressure on, to the extent that some may start questioning his suitability for the role.