Man City vs. Tottenham: Score, Grades and Reaction from Premier League Game
Sergio Aguero scored all four of his side's goals as Manchester City beat 10-man Tottenham Hotspur 4-1 on Saturday in a thrilling Premier League match.
Aguero netted twice in each half, converting a pair of penalties and missing a third spot kick as he pulled level with Diego Costa as the Premier League's leading scorer on nine goals.
The match supplied drama throughout the 90 minutes, with referee Jon Moss awarding four penalties, two of which were saved.
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Christian Eriksen scored the lone goal for Spurs, who finished the match with 10 men after Federico Fazio saw red in the second half for a foul on Aguero. Trailing 2-1 in the second half, Tottenham had a chance to equalise, but Roberto Soldado had a penalty saved.
With the win, Manchester City moved up to 17 points through eight league matches, two points behind leaders Chelsea, who play at Crystal Palace later Saturday. Manuel Pellegrini's side play at West Ham United next Saturday.
Tottenham, who provisionally remained in sixth place on 11 points, could tumble a few spots down the table depending on Saturday's other results. Mauricio Pochettino's side host Newcastle United next Sunday.
City won this fixture 6-0 last season, hastening the eventual departure of Andre Villas-Boas as Tottenham's manager. Under Pochettino, Spurs started brightly in this trip to the Etihad, creating a the first good chance in the eighth minute.
Eriksen created the opportunity with a clever pass to Ryan Mason in front of goal. Mason poked the ball towards goal, but Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart saved.
Spurs had been the more dangerous team in the early stages, but City took the lead almost out of nothing in the 13th minute.
The chance developed after Tottenham's Erik Lamela conceded possession in his own half. City worked the ball around to Aguero on the left side of the box. With Spurs defence standing off, Aguero took a touch to move past Younes Kaboul before curling in his shot at the far post.
With that, the hosts had a quick 1-0 lead. But less than two minutes later, Tottenham pulled level.
Like the opener, Spurs' equaliser came via a turnover, with Mason winning the ball off Fernando in City's half. The ball rolled to Soldado, who laid off for Eriksen on the right. Eriksen picked out the far corner with his low shot, which Hart was unable to stop with his trailing leg.
Tottenham had little time to enjoy their goal. In the 19th minute, City won a penalty after Lamela felled Frank Lampard in the box. One minute later, Aguero sent Hugo Lloris the wrong way to put his side back in front at 2-1.
Lampard had to leave the match on a stretcher in the 28th minute following a challenge with Mason. His replacement in City's midfield was Fernandinho.
City won a second penalty in the 31st minute. Spurs had been angered by the first decision, which they saw as soft, but there was little doubt about the second as Kaboul tackled David Silva in the box. Aguero took the penalty again, but Lloris saved this time, blocking with his legs as Aguero shot down the middle. The rebound then fell directly to Aguero, who volleyed acrobatically over the bar.
Both goalkeepers were busy as the first half came to a close. Lloris saved from a tight angle on Aguero in the 33rd minute, and eight minutes later at the other end, Hart palmed away Mason's volley from outside the box.
The match was finely poised at half-time, with City holding a precarious 2-1 lead. But Aguero was far from finished, and with two more goals in the second half, the Argentine secured the points for his side.
First, though, City and Hart had work to do at their own end. Spurs won a penalty of their own in the 61st minute as Martin Demichelis tripped Soldado along the edge of the box. Replays suggested the foul occurred outside the area, but Moss pointed to the spot.
Soldado took the spot kick after a delay of one minute, but Hart saved low and to his right to keep City ahead.
The save paid dividends in the 67th minute as City won their third penalty of the match. Holding the ball deep on the right, Jesus Navas tried to pick out Aguero's late run with a pass across the middle. Before he could reach the ball, Aguero tumbled after being pulled back by Fazio. Moss pointed to the penalty spot for a fourth time and showed Fazio a red card for denying a goalscoring opportunity.
Aguero took the penalty again, this time sending Lloris the wrong way to complete his hat-trick and put City ahead 3-1.
It was Aguero's second Premier League hat-trick with City and his first since September 2011, but he wasn't done yet. A fourth goal arrived in the 75th minute as Aguero ran onto a quick free-kick from City's half, cut inside onto his left foot and rocketed his shot into the far corner.
With that, 10-man Spurs were well beaten as City saw out their win in comfort.
Grades
| Joe Hart | 8.2 |
| Gael Clichy | 7.1 |
| Martin Demichelis | 6.4 |
| Vincent Kompany | 7.0 |
| Bacary Sagna | 7.1 |
| James Milner | 8.4 |
| Frank Lampard | 6.7 |
| Fernando | 6.2 |
| Jesus Navas | 7.5 |
| David Silva | 6.9 |
| Sergio Aguero | 10.0 |
| Fernandinho (for Lampard, 28') | 7.9 |
| Stevan Jovetic (for Silva, 70') | 6.3 |
| Yaya Toure (for Fernando, 76') | 6.7 |
| Hugo Lloris | 8.4 |
| Eric Dier | 6.4 |
| Federico Fazio | 4.5 |
| Younes Kaboul | 6.2 |
| Danny Rose | 6.5 |
| Etienne Capoue | 6.0 |
| Ryan Mason | 6.7 |
| Nacer Chadli | 7.3 |
| Christian Eriksen | 7.9 |
| Erik Lamela | 6.1 |
| Roberto Soldado | 7.1 |
| Mousa Dembele (for Capoue, 60') | 6.8 |
| Andros Townsend (for Lamela, 60') | 5.8 |
| Jan Vertonghen (for Mason, 70') | 6.2 |
Post-Match Reaction
Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini (via MCFC.co.uk):
"I am not just saying this because he scored four goals today, but I think Kun is one of the best three or four strikers in the world.
…
He won’t score four every game but he will demonstrate why everyone says he is one of the best players in the world.
Joe is the no.1 keeper in England. He made important saves today especially the penalty, but he also made a good save in the first five or six minutes which was important so we did not start with conceding a goal.
We need every player in the team at a high level if we are going to do something.
"
Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino (via BBC Sport):
"I think the first penalty after we scored made it difficult for us. We played 70 minutes when we were always in the game. Manchester City have very good players. The result was bad but there are a lot of positives to take.
The first penalty for me was ridiculous but we need to accept the decision. We need to review the game—my feeling was it is not a red card. A lot of things happened. It's difficult to analyse.
We always believed it was possible to get a point.
"
