Dhe English football champions Manchester City have failed to close the gap to first-placed Arsenal in the Premier League. The team around star striker Erling Haaland lost 0-1 (0-1) at Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday. England international and Tottenham’s professional Harry Kane, who is associated with FC Bayern, set a club record with his goal.
Man City was the game-determining team in London for long stretches. However, the offensive around the former Dortmunder Haaland acted too harmlessly. Tottenham were efficient. After a quarter of an hour Kane scored the lead for the hosts, who had to do without coach Antonio Conte, with the only good chance of the first half. Because the Italian had his gallbladder removed, his assistant Cristian Stellini was on the sidelines.
With Kevin De Bruyne coming on for Riyad Mahrez after just under an hour, the “Cityzens” coached by Pep Guardiola got stronger, but Tottenham kept coming up with dangerous counterattacks. After a yellow-red card for Spurs professional Cristian Romero (87th minute) because of a foul, Manchester City was no longer able to score even with a majority.
With his 267th goal for Tottenham, Kane surpassed the more than 50-year record of club icon Jimmy Greaves, who had scored 266 goals for the Londoners. It was also Kane’s 200th Premier League goal. The 29-year-old is only the third player to reach that number, after Alan Shearer (260) and Wayne Rooney (208). Kane was the fastest though. He needed 304 games, Shearer 306 and Rooney even 462.
Second in the Premier League, Man City are still five points adrift of leaders and Tottenham nemesis Arsenal, who have also played a game in hand. Arsenal also lost this weekend. Mikel Arteta’s team suffered a surprise 1-0 defeat by Everton FC. Third place, three points fewer, goes to in-form local rivals Manchester United, who beat Crystal Palace 2-1 on Saturday. Spurs remain fifth behind fourth-placed Newcastle.
