Maddison's brace inspires Spurs to sensational 4-0 rout of champions Manchester City

The Etihad Stadium Picture by Jack Burford

By Jack Burford at The Etihad Stadium

It was an day to remember for the Tottenham faithful as they destroyed Pep Guardiola's Manchester City side 4-0 at the Etihad Stadium.

Tottenham fans could not have asked for a better response after a disappointing 2-1 loss at home to Ipswich before the international break.

It was an electric performance from start to finish as Spurs took control of the game. James Maddison opened the scoring in the 12th minute after an inch-perfect ball from the in-form Dejan Kulusevski found Maddison, who slotted it home.

Spurs doubled their lead in the 19th minute following great interplay between Heung-min Son and Maddison. Son slipped the ball through to Maddison, who calmly chipped it over Ederson, giving Tottenham a 2-0 lead in the opening 20 minutes—on Maddison's 28th birthday, no less.

Manchester City tried to respond in the first half but struggled with control in the final third, failing to capitalize on a few misplaced passes.

It quickly went from bad to worse for Manchester City as Pedro Porro smashed home Tottenham’s third of the evening in the 53rd minute.

Intricate footwork and excellent hold-up play from Kulusevski allowed him the space to cross a ball in behind the City defense. The ball was controlled by Dominic Solanke, who kept his composure to lay it off to Porro, who emphatically dispatched Tottenham's third.

Although Manchester City fans did their best to inspire a City comeback, Tottenham continued to control the tempo of the match and remained defensively resolute.

With two minutes remaining, Tottenham put the final nail in the coffin by scoring their fourth goal of the evening. Substitute Timo Werner burst down the left-hand side, easily beating a tired Kyle Walker, before cutting the ball back to an eagerly anticipating Brennan Johnson, who scored his fifth goal of the Premier League season.

That is now Manchester City’s fifth loss in five games, an unwanted record for Pep Guardiola in the week that he committed his future to the Citizens for another two years, which will take his time at City beyond a decade.

On the other hand, it was an emphatic win for Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham, a performance that demonstrates the potential of his Spurs side. He will hope that today is a sign of things to come as Tottenham look to become a more consistent threat in the Premier League.

Teams: Man City: Ederson, J. Gvardiol M. Akanji, J. Stones, K. Walker Bernardo Silva. Gündoğan, R. Lewis, Savinho, E. Haaland, P. Foden

Spurs: Vicario, D. Udogie, B. Davies, R. Drăgușin, Pedro Porro, J. Maddison, Y. Bissouma, P. Sarr, Son Heung-Min, D. Solanke, Kulusevski