Tottenham Hotspur vs. Manchester City: Last 3 meetings | Premier League 2019-20

This Sunday sees a major Premier League clash near the top of the table, as 2nd placed Manchester City look to close the gap on leaders Liverpool by defeating Tottenham Hotspur – who currently sit in 6th – at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in North London.

Both teams picked up Premier League victories in their last game; City defeating Sheffield United 0-1 at Bramall Lane and Spurs beating bottom club Norwich 2-1 at home, and while Pep Guardiola’s side will likely come into this fixture as favourites, his old rival Jose Mourinho will be desperate to pick up what would be Tottenham’s first major scalp this season.

Here is a look at the last 3 meetings between these Premier League powerhouses.

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Manchester City 2-2 Tottenham Hotspur

August 17th 2019, Premier League

Gabriel Jesus saw a goal controversially ruled out in the last meeting between the two sides

The last time these two sides met was in a thriller in the second gameweek of the current Premier League season. City came into the game as heavy favourites after Spurs had stuttered to an opening day win over newly promoted Aston Villa, and early on it looked like they would comfortably assert their dominance, with Raheem Sterling opening the scoring with a header from a wonderful Kevin De Bruyne cross after 20 minutes.

Despite being under the cosh, though, Mauricio Pochettino’s Spurs struck back instantly, with Erik Lamela firing home from outside the box during a rare attack. Pep Guardiola’s side continued to boss the game, however, when Sergio Aguero slotted home from another De Bruyne cross after 35 minutes, it looked like curtains for Tottenham.

Somehow though, Pochettino’s side held firm, and found a surprising equaliser when substitute Lucas Moura headed in from a corner with his first touch after basically arriving undetected in the penalty area.

There was still time for plenty of drama, too; a final attack from City in added time resulted in Gabriel Jesus finding the back of the net, only for VAR to controversially rule the goal out after adjudging that the ball had hit the arm of Aymeric Laporte before finding its way to the Brazilian.

In the end City finished the match with 30 shots on goal to Tottenham’s 3 – two of which found their way into the net – meaning that Guardiola’s side had to see this as points dropped rather than one gained.

Manchester City 1-0 Tottenham Hotspur

April 20th 2019, Premier League

A Phil Foden header handed City all 3 points against Spurs last April

Phil Foden’s 5th minute header was enough to win this match in the latter part of the 2018-19 season for City, but the game failed to live up to the hype it had been given following a classic Champions League encounter between the two just days earlier.

Mauricio Pochettino’s Spurs looked tired from the off, and were reduced to just a 39% share of the ball during the match as the likes of Eric Dier and Toby Alderweireld were left chasing shadows at times. But they still had a handful of chances; City keeper Ederson saving well from Son Heung Min, Lucas Moura and Christian Eriksen.

Spurs even felt they deserved a penalty in the second half – the ball appeared to connect with former Tottenham star Kyle Walker’s hand as he challenged for it with Dele Alli – but in the end, Foden’s goal proved to be the difference.

The win put City in the driving seat in the campaign’s title race; they edged ahead of second-placed Liverpool by a single point, while Tottenham remained in 4th, and seemed content to focus on their Champions League campaign for the remainder of the season – they would win just one more Premier League match after this loss.

Manchester City 4-3 Tottenham Hotspur

April 17th, 2019, Champions League

Fernando Llorente's controversial goal sent Spurs to the semi-finals of the Champions League at City's expense

This all-English Champions League quarter-final tie stood on a knife-edge after a tight first leg that saw Tottenham lose their talismanic striker Harry Kane with an injury, City striker Sergio Aguero miss a penalty, and finally Spurs take a narrow lead into the second leg through a goal from Son Heung Min.

Most fans and pundits were expecting an equally tight game at the Etihad, but everyone was left gobsmacked when things went absolutely goal-crazy from the off, with 4 strikes finding the back of the net before the first 15 minutes were up.

Raheem Sterling first opened the scoring with a beautifully curled shot from just inside the box after just 4 minutes – erasing Tottenham’s first leg lead – but Mauricio Pochettino’s side then shocked everyone when Son found an equaliser just 3 minutes later, firing home as the ball bobbled into his path on the edge of the box.

Less than 2 minutes after, the Korean forward had another goal, curling home with his right foot from a wonderful pass from midfielder Christian Eriksen. But City were undeterred, and 2 minutes after falling behind they were level again, with Bernardo Silva’s shot deflecting in off Danny Rose from close range.

The game finally settled down after that – but only for around 10 minutes, as City then put themselves into the lead on the night through Sterling, who finished from close range following a low cross from Kevin De Bruyne.

City found themselves on the defensive just after half-time, with Ederson saving from a Fernando Llorente header, but on 59 minutes, they edged ahead in the tie for the first time, with a mazy run from De Bruyne setting up a thumping finish for Sergio Aguero.

Incredibly though, Spurs weren’t done yet; Kieran Trippier’s corner found its way to Llorente, who was lurking on the near post, and the Spaniard managed to turn the ball into the back of the net to put Pochettino’s side ahead via the away goals rule. City’s players claimed a handball, but plenty of VAR checks seemed to prove that the ball had gone in via Llorente’s hip.

Even then, the drama wasn’t over. With the game deep into added time, Eriksen lost the ball and it somehow found its way to Aguero – who sprinted into the box before crossing for Sterling to score a winner.

The Etihad erupted into rapture while Guardiola leapt around on the touchline – but it wasn’t to be, as a replay revealed that Aguero had been inches offside when the ball arrived to him, and thus the goal was ruled out by VAR.

It was a cruel twist for City, as the match finally ended just moments later, putting Tottenham into their first ever Champions League semi-final, but it was also an instant classic and stands amongst the greatest matches in the competition’s history.