MANCHESTER (United Kingdom): Manchester City collapsed to their fifth straight defeat on Saturday, hammered 4-0 by Tottenham in another huge blow to their Premier League title hopes as Arsenal got their challenge back on track.
The rout at the Etihad ends City’s 52-game unbeaten home run and leaves manager Pep Guardiola scrambling for answers just two days after he signed a contract extension with the club he has guided to four consecutive league titles.
Before the start of the match, City staged a spectacular tribute to the injured Rodri, who showcased the Ballon d’Or trophy he won last month.
But the feel-good spirit did not last long as Spurs showed the home team how much they are missing the Spain midfielder, who has been ruled out for the rest of the season with a knee injury.Jam
es Maddison scored twice in the opening 20 minutes and Pedro Porro extended Tottenham’s lead early in the second half.
Spurs completed their crushing win in stoppage time when Timo Werner raced down the left, squaring for Brennan Johnson to slide home.
“In eight years we have never lived this kind of situation,” said Guardiola.
“Now we have to live it and break it winning the next games, especially the next one. Now we see things in one way, maybe in a few weeks we see it differently.”
He added: “The fire is when you win a lot of games, which is better than when you are losing, but we accept this. We have to move forward and break it and try.”
City, who had lost their past three Premier League matches and their last five in all competitions, remain five points behind leaders Liverpool, who played their game in hand against Southampton on Sunday. – AFP
