Tottenham Hotspur 1-3 Manchester City: Five Talking Points

Manchester City stand on the brink of a third Premier League title after bouncing back from a horrendous last 10 days or so, to beat Tottenham Hotspur 3-1 at Wembley.

Three consecutive defeats on the trot seemed to knock some wind out of their sails. But the Skyblues rolled back the time and turned in another display that has propelled them to new heights this term.

Gabriel Jesus and Ilkay Gundogan gave the visitors a two-goal cushion inside the first half-hour, but Cristian Eriksen halved the deficit before the break. PFA award nominee Raheem Sterling then popped up with another strike deep in the second half, which effectively sealed the tie.

City are now just a win away from their coronation as the champions. Here are some of the talking points from the match:

#1 Manchester City back to their rip-roaring self

Consecutive defeats to Liverpool and Manchester United threatened to derail an otherwise smooth-sailing campaign. Pep Guardiola was in the eye of the storm for several tactical shortcomings in those games and was also made to wait in his maiden English league title pursuit.

But here, Manchester City looked like their earlier selves. The ferocity, the robustness, the dominance, everything seemed to return to their game after briefly deserting them. Jesus and Gundogan gave a 2-0 lead even before the half-hour mark - just the response Guardiola was looking for after a distressing week.

And even if they did take their foot off the gas a bit after the German's penalty, the visitors had enough in their tanks edge past the in-form Spurs.

If there were any doubts again here, Sterling put it all to bed by settling the tie. The result leaves City needing just a win in the next game - or a West Brom victory at Old Trafford later today, which is very unlikely - to claim the championship they've earned with aplomb.

#2 Harry Kane may need some more time reconjure his best

Harry Kane was off-coloured — Harry Kane was off

The Spurs astro returned from the knee injury in the 2-1 victory over Stoke City last weekend that also saw him get on the scoresheet. But when the stakes were higher by a significant margin in this game, he came up a cropper.

Kane uncharacteristically struggled in the final third to have little to no impact in the match. He never looked like scoring here. And even if he did try to, lacked the nerve to guide it into the back of the net which he normally does. The 0% shot accuracy might add some substance to that. While he also miscued passes in the build-up.

His game had all the look of a player only returning from a lay-off and there's nothing wrong about it. It's just an observation. Kane may be back to his fierceful self in the next game. The only thing frustrating was watching Mohammed Salah increase his lead in the race for the Golden Boot by another goal.

#3 Kyle Walker booed and jeered on his 'homecoming'

Kyle Walker wasn't welcomed as he would've liked

Former Spurs fullback Kyle Walker returned to the cauldron of Tottenham supporters as a visiting player, and was received to a pretty hostile reception from the fans. Walker was booed most of the time that he was on the ball, leaving no chance in expressing their contempt on having him switched sides for a 'bigger' club.

However, for everything Walker delivered as a Spurs player, this was the last thing he deserved. But the 27-year old appeared unperturbed by it, and turned in another emphatic performance at the right-back that should've pleased his new set of fans.

Walker, upon his arrival to the Etihad, slotted seamlessly in Guardiola's set-up and has admittedly played an influential role in City's march to the title. That is one one of the reasons for his switch, but he has totally justified it

#4 Lamela squanders an opportunity

Erik Lamela missed a chance to make an impression

The emergence of Heung-Min Son during his long injury lay-off has seen Erik Lamela drop down the pecking order. But today, the Argentine was given a go ahead of the Korean. This was a rare chance to reclaim his position in the team. If only he could grab it by both hands (or legs?)

Lamela cut a frustrated figure in the attack, offering hardly anything going forward. There's no question of his immense work-rate, but his productivity was scarce. Lamela also looked clueless when on the ball and often chose the wrong option to distribute.

Manager Pochettino entrusted faith in him by resting an in-form Son. But would've left disappointed with that decision.

#5 Tottenham lucky to escape bigger damage

Davies and Kompany argue after a foul on the latter by the Welshman

The Lillywhites simply didn't appear to be in their usual selves. But the performance by the defense will receive more slack.

To start with, right after the penalty, Spurs were saved from more trouble as Ben Davies escaped a red after a horrendous tackle on Vincent Kompany. The Welshman was shown only a yellow. But another 10 minutes later, he brought down Raheem Sterling on the edge of the area and once again escaped a sending off.

Hugo Lloris too, would be feeling lucky for not have srnt for an early bath by the referee; for he too was responsible for a wily tackle on Sterling that led to the penalty. The contact may have happened outside the box, but the Frenchman's challenge was rash enough to be given a card. A red one.

Tottenham were let out of jail on both occasions. But had it been otherwise, they would've left to endure a bigger damage.