By Samuel A. December 3, 2023
Manchester City delivered another Premier League classic for ages yet again, but their defensive organisation is, at the moment, in shambles, and their inability to control games just might cost them their fourth straight Premier League title. Dejan Kulusevski scored an equaliser in the final minute of normal time as Tottenham snatched a draw at the home of the defending champions in Sunday’s showdown.
The home side were excellent in attack, bar the Erling Haaland miss from close range, but were abysmal in defence, giving the visitors more zeal to attack as they refused to throw in the towel, despite their defensive setbacks, and Kulusevski’s towering late header earned Ange Postecoglou’s side a point.
Pep Guardiola’s side had led 2-1 at the break thanks to a Phil Foden goal after Heung-min Son had scored at both ends, but Giovani Lo Celso’s superb strike from outside the box made it 2-2.
Despite Spurs committing numerous errors and giving City chances to win, Pep Guardiola’s side were terribly wasteful, and they paid the price for their wastefulness. The numbers suggest there has been a dropoff in the past four league games. One incident that angered City happened when Haaland was fouled in the fifth minute of stoppage time, managing to regain his footing to swivel and send Jack Grealish clear. Hooper initially appeared to acknowledge the infringement and wave play on, but then blew his whistle to pull play back for a City freekick. The decision brought City protests, and criticism from pundits. Having reacted angrily at the time of the decision, City players and staff again surrounded the referee at full time to argue their case, with Haaland particularly animated.
Manager Pep Guardiola had managed to regain his composure by the time he spoke to the media. When asked about the incident, he said: “Next question. I will not do a Mikel Arteta comment.” Having already decided he didn’t want to follow in the footsteps of the Arsenal boss in provoking a Football Association charge, he was a little more candid. “Sometimes I lose my mind about the referees, but here no. Always people can make mistakes. It surprised me for the fact that he went to whistle when Erling went down, but after he stood back up and made the pass, the referee made the gesture to play on. But then when the ball goes to Jack, then the whistle.”
When later asked specifically about Haaland’s response after the final whistle, Guardiola said “it’s normal” and “his reaction was the same for the other 10 players”. “He’s a little bit disappointed,” he added. “Even the referee, if he played for Manchester City today, he would be disappointed for that action, that’s for sure, but I would say we didn’t draw for that.”
Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou on the other hand was unperturbed, saying “it doesn’t affect me at all”. The Australian added: “I don’t think that is the story of the game today, there are better storylines from that fantastic game of football than one refereeing decision.”
Manchester City face a tricky trip to Aston Villa on Wednesday, while Spurs host West Ham in a spicy London derby on Thursday.
