Tottenham 0, Manchester City 1 (FA Cup 4th Round)
Nathan Ake scored the winner as Manchester City finally broke their duck at the new Tottenham Hotspur stadium to dump Spurs out of the FA Cup.
Embed from Getty ImagesCity had completed 101 shots at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium without scoring in five visits but Ake’s scruffy finish from a corner finally gave them the goal at the 102nd attempt and the win that Pep Guardiola had been craving for years.
It had earlier looked like the tie was set for a replay, with Oscar Bobb’s early goal ruled out and Kevin De Bruyne missing the target late on as City racked up the chances but badly needed the cold eyed Erling Haaland in front of goal before Ake popped up with the winner.
Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou conceded that the better side won but refused to comment any further on a potential foul on Guglielmo Vicario for the City winner.
He said: “It was a tough game, they are a top side. It was just too tough of a test for us.
“We had to work hard to stay in the game and to concede so late was a gut punch.
“The referee didn’t see anything wrong, VAR didn’t see anything wrong. I think we have to accept it.”
City boss Pep Guardiola was delighted with the result.
He said: “I was really pleased with the game. We played similarly to the way we have played here for years.
“Coming here was difficult, I am so happy for the players.”
Although he said he didn’t see any alleged foul in the build-up he had praise for the match winner, adding: “Nathan has an incredible tempo at set pieces in attack.”
Oscar Bobb started at Spurs after his winner at Newcastle in the previous round of the FA Cup. Erling Haaland and Manuel Akanji were missing through injury but John Stones was fit enough to join Kevin De Bruyne on the bench.
Spurs were without captain Heung-min Son, who was on Asian Cup duty with South Korea, and a trio of players at the African Cup of Nations. James Maddison, although declared fit, started on the bench after a period of months out.
City thought they had broken their Tottenham Hotspur Stadium hoodoo after just six minutes of this contest.
Pep Guardiola’s men piled on the pressure early on and Phil Foden’s shot was blocked by Guglielmo Vicario before Oscar Bobb stabbed home the rebound only for the offside flag to rule it out immediately.
Both sides had a number of chances in an open game with Bobb and Foden both coming close.
Spurs were cowed after a dominant first half for City, with no shots on goal against the profligate visitors.
Julian Alvarez saw his shot blocked from close range early in the second half while Stefan Ortega leapt onto the ball to prevent Brennan Johnson getting a shooting chance.
With the game balanced and goalless Pep Guardiola introduced Kevin De Bruyne and Jeremy Doku for Bobb and Alvarez after 65 minutes.
Bernardo Silva had a penalty claim turned down and a shot saved by Vicario as City pushed for a late goal.
And even De Bruyne failed to hit the target after Hojbjerg gave the ball away on the edge of the area allowing Foden to rob him and pull the ball back for the Belgian.
And Walker caught up with Timo Werner as he tried to go clear at the other end with Spurs’ best chance – easing him out of the way before the German could shoot.
De Bruyne won a corner with a deflected shot and from that set piece Nathan Ake bundled the ball over the line with 2 minutes remaining.
There was a question mark over a foul on Vicario when Dias appeared to back into him as De Bruyne’s corner came in.
There was the usual interminable VAR delay but it was the away fans who celebrated the win.