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Manchester City rode an early goal by youngster Phil Foden to beat Tottenham Hotspur for the second time this week.
Coming days after their disappointing exit from the UEFA Champions League, Manchester City put it across to Tottenham through a fifth-minute goal by Foden and held on to take three points from the game.
The game on Saturday at the Etihad Stadium wasn't a topsy-turvy affair like the 4-3 result midweek and wasn't nearly as exciting as it. However, in the context of the Premier League standing, City were able to go above Liverpool on top of the table by a point with 86 points in 34 games.
Liverpool visit Cardiff City on Sunday with a chance to reclaim the top spot but before that, let's look at the hits and flops from the game -
Hit - Phil Foden (Manchester City)
In just his second Premier League start this season, after playing the full game against Cardiff this April 3, the 18-year-old Foden became the cynosure of all eyes with his impressive display against Tottenham on Saturday.
The run that Foden made to get his goal speaks of the remarkable game-sense the teenager possesses.
Bernardo Silva, the Man of the Match undoubtedly, did all the hard work, chipping the ball into the centre for Sergio Aguero in the fifth minute of the match. Aguero spotted Foden at the other post and selflessly headed it across with Foden left with the task of just nodding it home.
Apart from the goal itself, Foden's combination with Bernardo gave the Tottenham defence a difficult time at the Etihad. Bernardo's quick movement and Foden's knack of running into those spaces helped City create quite a number of chances throughout the game.
The biggest takeaway from Foden's performance was his hunger to contribute more and more to the team. In the 85 minutes he spent on the pitch, Foden covered 11.53 km, the most for any City player and took 59 touches.
Foden, however, still has to work on his finishing with the foot. In the middle of the first period, Foden received the ball from Bernado at the edge of the box, shifted the ball between his feet and unleashed one towards Paulo Gazzaniga with his weaker left foot, which was easily blocked.
In the second half, Sergio Aguero had his shot blocked by Jan Vertoghen and with the Manchester City players busy asking for a hand ball while the chance was alive, Foden had a chance to put it across the back of the net. However, he fluffed the opportunity and shot wide.
Yet, it was a promising display by the 18-year-old who is only going to improve in the coming days.
Flop - Eric Dier (Tottenham Hotspur)
Returning to the Starting XI after one and half months, Dier did little to justify his place in the line-up. Playing in front of the defenders, Dier was tasked with controlling the play and ease the transition between the defence and the attack.
Dier last played in Tottenham's 2-1 loss to Southampton on March 9. Before that, he made substitute appearances against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League and in the home fixture against Newcastle United.
Mauricio Pochettino, the Tottenham boss, expected Dier to fill in the shoes of the injured Harry Winks and Moussa Sissoko against Man City on the day.
Dier, however, seemed to be under pressure throughout the game. Tottenham needed someone who could maintain the calmness in the midfield, spot the runs by the attackers and feed them with a pass or a pre-assist.
Dier, on the other hand, released a pass quite prematurely. He even tried to send Son Heung-min and Lucas Moura on the counter but the attempted lob was either to heavy or wayward.
With City taking the lead early in the game, Dier's morale took a hit as well. That initial nervousness played out through the game for the Englishman and he was unable to contribute much to his team, eventually getting replaced by Victor Wanyama in the 61st minute.
Hit - Davinson Sanchez (Tottenham Hotspur)
Among the 3 central defenders in Spurs' 5-3-2 system, Sanchez showed tremendous work rate and kept the score respectable.
Sanchez, flanked by Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld, had to shoulder much of the responsibility in stopping the City threat.
Even during the counters, Sanchez had to cover up for the missing fullbacks Juan Foyth and Ben Davies. Around the 75th minute in particular, City could have sealed the game when Leroy Sane broke through on the left channel but Sanchez retreated quickly and landed a tackle that put an end to the move.
That wasn't the only occasion when Sanchez was called in. City's aerial threat was more or less neutralised by Sanchez's presence at the back.
Moreover, with Sergio Aguero looking to leave the defence behind with a run, Sanchez had to be on his toes to keep track of Aguero's menace. The pace of Raheem Sterling was another concern for Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino but Sanchez was able to keep up with the in-form Sterling throughout the game.
Sanchez was able to execute his role perfectly but wasn't able to prevent the inital goal by Phil Foden, which was a brilliant move by City.
Flop - Son Heung-min (Spurs)
Much was expected from Son Heung-min after his exhilarating performance midweek in the Champions League, where he guided Spurs to the semifinals with a quick first-half brace.
Son has been the focal point of Tottenham's attack in recent times in the absence of the injured Harry Kane. While the Korean has delivered in other games, he scored a duck on Saturday against the defending champions City.
Son had a chance in the third minute of the game when he intercepted a poor pass by John Stones and rushed into the box on the left channel. In his attempt to avoid Kyle Walker, Son made the angle tougher for himself and ended up shooting straight at Ederson.
And that became the pattern for Son throughout the match. The Korean was able to break on the counter but snapped and lost his focus when he had to find a spot to slot the final shot.
In the 44th minute, in the centre of the park, Son tricked Walker into committing, shifted the ball between his feet and zoomed past the field with Lucas Moura making a run on the left. Son fumbled at the edge of the box but the ball came off Raheem Sterling, setting Son up with an opportunity. However, Son was under pressure and couldn't place the ball past Ederson.
To be fair to Son, Ederson pulled off an excellent save on this occasion to deny Tottenham at the end of the first half.
However, Son had more than a couple of chances to find the equaliser but Tottenham, as an entire unit, dropped their performance in the second half to lose this one.
Hit - Ederson (Manchester City)
Neither goalkeeper had an easy outing on Saturday but Ederson kept Manchester City's scoreline intact with a bagful of saves. If Paulo Gazzaniga made that point-blank save to stop Raheem Sterling from scoring City's second goal, Ederson came up with quite a number of blocks to maintain his 16th clean sheet in this Premier League.
Ederson prevented Son Heung-min from scoring the opening goal two minutes before Phil Foden would get theirs with perfect positioning. Christen Eriksen fired one from the edge of the box but Ederson had it covered.
That apart, there was that brilliant save Ederson made in the 44th minute to deny Son again. Eriksen stepped out of his line to meet Son head-on and won the battle convincingly with a save that City took inspiration from.
In the second half, Lucas Moura threatened near the right post but Ederson again put the Brazilian under pressure by showing his readiness to punch the shot out for a corner.
Altogether, Manchester City's dominant show in the second half helped Ederson to some extent but if not for these saves, City would have had to look for inspiration from their attackers for a second goal.
