Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City faced off for the third time in the space of ten days this afternoon, with City emerging victorious on this occasion, thanks to an early goal from Phil Foden.

The 18-year-old’s goal in the fifth minute was enough to decide the match, despite Tottenham creating numerous chances to equalise and maybe even take a lead.

The game lacked the goals of the midweek clash but there was still plenty of incident, with both sides having numerous chances. In the end, City were grateful to have a solid performance from Ederson, who made some key saves to deny Son and Moura.

City did have chances to extend their lead – Sergio Aguero’s effort blocked at close-range by an excellent Toby Alderweireld and Raheem Sterling was kept out by Paulo Gazzaniga’s outstretched leg. The hosts’ looked twitchy in the final 15 minutes of the game as our gaffer threw Llorente on the field.

Before Llorente came in, Moura had a good chance to make it 1-1, only for his low shot from the right angle to be blocked by a combination of Stones and an onrushing Ederson.

Despite all the pressure in the final 10-15 minutes of the game, where City were constantly pinned back, we eventually didn’t do enough in front of goal. Defeat at the Etihad means we stay in third but could be in fourth if our north London rivals Arsenal win tomorrow against Crystal Palace.

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After the 1-0 loss to City, here’s how our fans reacted on Twitter.

Good performance, just not our day, HEADS UP

— ZGold26 (@Gold26Z) April 20, 2019

We knew we’d probably lose this today, win the next 4 and we’re in the top 4, it’s still in our hands, come on you spurs!

— Dan (@theravingcrew) April 20, 2019

Team played well …… just unlucky with the chances ……Foyth had a damn good game

— nik kelly (@nikkelly7) April 20, 2019

Win, lose, or draw. I’m Tottenham till I die!⚪💙 #COYS

— Agis Zalfa Verenia (@ZalfaAgis) April 20, 2019

I think it was a good thing to do this much even though there were many injured players!

— You made it. (@0UjDe2LdKiLwGV9) April 20, 2019

Very unlucky today – played well 👍🏿👍🏿

— Who’s next (@whotunes) April 20, 2019

Plenty of passion and equal with shots on goal but noyhing going for us today. We could of collapsed after 5 mins but we stayed strong but we should of taken those chances and deserved at least a point. Onto next week against BHA where it really is 3 points and nothing else COYS

— Darrell Hegerty (@darrellh59) April 20, 2019

Good effort fair play 👍

— Chocky✌️ (@Chockyy24) April 20, 2019

Good Effort 👏 #COYS

— Hakan Yılmaz Ayan (@MaJestiGa) April 20, 2019

Outstanding effort. Given the chances we had we might have got something from the game. More of this next week and we’ll be fine.

— Terry Dignan (@TerryDignan) April 20, 2019

Foyth was massive

— Heung-Min Son is my dad (@melancholy_m00n) April 20, 2019

Foyth was brilliant! 💪

— Shahadat Albiceleste (@Fideo_SH) April 20, 2019

Phil Foden scored his first Premier League goal as Manchester City claimed a crucial 1-0 win over Tottenham to regain top spot in the table.

The 18-year-old became City’s third-youngest Premier League goalscorer as he headed home after just five minutes of a tense clash at the Etihad, three days after we dumped them out of the Champions League.

The victory took City back above Liverpool, but at the cost of another injury to Kevin De Bruyne, who limped off with what looked like another knee problem before half-time. As far as Spurs are concerned, we remain third in the table but could be fifth by tomorrow if Arsenal win their game against Crystal Palace.

Tottenham Player Ratings

Paulo Gazzaniga- 6/10

Looked shaky in the initial moments of the game before settling down gradually. Produced a fantastic block with his foot to deny Sterling at 1-0.

Toby Alderweireld- 7/10

Alderweireld was solid and made an excellent block to deny Sergio Aguero at the start of the second half. Replaced in the final few minutes by Fernando Llorente.

Davinson Sanchez- 8/10

Lost Aguero for the crucial opener as the Argentine ghosted behind him before heading to Foden for a simple header. However, he redeemed himself with some last-ditch defending to keep the hosts’ away from scoring more than one.

Jan Vertonghen- 6/10

Lacked pace to cope up with the City attackers and was lucky to stay on the pitch for the entire game. Solid but unspectacular.

Juan Foyth- 7/10

Started shakily in his unusual position at right wing-back as Sterling gave him a torrid time. Settled well gradually before putting in a good display.

Eric Dier- 4/10

Looked rusty which is usual after returning from an injury. Just couldn’t control the proceedings from midfield and was replaced at the hour mark.

Dele Alli- 6/10

Alli produced some really delicate footwork to bamboozle the City players. Did well from a deeper role in midfield.

Ben Davies- 6/10

Couldn’t keep up with the trickery of the nimble-footed Bernardo Silva, who enjoyed an excellent game.

Christian Eriksen- 7/10

Eriksen produced some gorgeous through balls which sadly our players couldn’t capitalize. He was denied by Ederson inside the first 15 minutes where he could have done better.

Lucas Moura- 7/10

Worked his socks off throughout the game and was really unlucky with his chance in the closing stages as Ederson denied him a certain equaliser.

Son Heung-min- 8/10

Son was once again a thorn for the hosts with his movement and pace. Had two good chances to score but was denied by Ederson and Laporte. Worked extremely hard but without any reward.

Substitutes

Victor Wanyama- 5/10

Added a lot of physicality and steel to the midfield which Spurs lacked earlier.

Danny Rose- 5/10

Replaced Alli to take a place in central midfield. Fluffed a shot wide when he should have at least hit the target from outside the box.

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Fernando Llorente- 4/10

Replaced Alderweireld but couldn’t make a telling impact once again at the Etihad.

Spurs news: Mauricio Pochettino ready to trust youth against Man City

Tottenham are preparing to face Manchester City for a second consecutive game in a week.

Spurs progressed to the semi-finals of the competition on Tuesday in dramatic fashion against Manchester City. Despite a 4-3 loss at the Etihad Stadium, we advanced 4-4 on away goals, with Raheem Sterling’s last-gasp goal disallowed after a VAR review.

Having knocked out City from the Champions League, we have a glorious opportunity to now dent Pep Guardiola’s title hopes on Saturday. Also, with a win at the Etihad in the Premier League, we ourselves will solidify the top four hopes.

And in the pre-match presser against City, Pochettino explained he wants to finish the season in the top four.

“The Premier League is different and we are fighting for different things,” Pochettino told in his pre-match press conference. (h/t The Daily Mail)

“Manchester City are trying to win the Premier League and, for us, it’s so important to be in the top four for next season.”

Spurs have few injury problems ahead of the game, with Moussa Sissoko set to miss after hobbling off against City in the Champions League, while Harry Kane has commenced his rehab on his ankle injury. Meanwhile, Erik Lamela remains out with a hamstring problem.

Pochettino has said he could field some fresh faces on Saturday after such an exhausting Wednesday night in the Champions League.

“City have an unbelievable squad, they can change and rotate the starting 11 and keep the same level on the pitch,” he added.

“With all the circumstances and some injuries, maybe we need to think about playing with younger players, not without experience, but with plenty of energy and keeping the same ideas – to be brave and try to compete.

“It’s going to be tough but we need to think about recovery and try to design the best strategy to try to be competitive.”

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Pochettino deserves immense credit for the fact that Tottenham have been able to make it so far in the Champions League. Having not spent a single on improving our team this season, he has managed to keep the squad motivated throughout the campaign. And that has been key to the team staying in the hunt for the trophy this season.

Christian Eriksen one of the host of key players Spurs willing to sell

Tottenham are willing to sell their star playmaker Christian Eriksen in the summer transfer window, reports the Daily Mail.

The 27-year-old Danish’s current deal with Tottenham Hotspur is set to expire at the end of the following season, with Spurs struggling to tie him down to a new deal.

Eriksen is one of the number of key players Spurs want to sell this summer as Mauricio Pochettino wants to sign at least five players. Pochettino will have a budget of just £60m plus whatever is generated from the sales of other players, the Daily Mail adds.

Christian Eriksen

Pochettino is also looking to offload Danny Rose, Victor Wanyama, Kieran Tripper, Georges-Kevin Nkoudou and Toby Alderweireld. Alderweireld has a year left on his contract but a £25m release clause will be activated this summer, which will surely make him available in a cut-price deal.

The report further adds that Spurs could raise up to £100m from player sales as Pochettino looks out for two central midfielders, a new left-back and a support striker for our main man Harry Kane.

Selling Christian Eriksen will be a mistake

Tottenham desperately need to sign players in the summer transfer window after firing blanks in the past two windows. But we just cannot sell Eriksen, who is one of the most crucial cogs of Pochettino’s system.

Mauricio Pochettino

The Dane is an elite playmaker and if we want to build a squad to challenge for the Premier League title and other trophies, we need to keep the best players in the team without any second thoughts.

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Although he would command a huge transfer fee, selling Eriksen would be a big mistake just when things could be exciting from next season at our new stadium.