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

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.