Edin Dzeko inspired Manchester City to a stunning 5-1 win over Spurs with four goals at White Hart Lane.
Slick City send out title warning with White Hart Lane success
Edin Dzeko inspired Manchester City to a stunning 5-1 win over Spurs with four goals at White Hart Lane.
The Bosnian striker was in rampant mood as City maintained their 100 per cent start to the season to go to the top of the table.
Dzeko got the ball rolling with the opener on 34 minutes after being set up by debutant Samir Nasri.
The duo combined again for the second goal four minutes before the break and he completed his hat-trick on 55 minutes when he scored from Yaya Toure's cross.
Aguero got in on the act when he added the fourth on the hour mark when he raced past Michael Dawson and lifted the ball over Brad Friedel.
Younes Kaboul netted a consolation for Spurs when he headed home Rafael Van der Vaart's corner.
Dzeko had the final word in stoppage time when he completed the scoring with a superb strike from the edge of the box.
However despite the scoreline, it was in fact the hosts who started the brighter of the two with Aaron Lennon taking seconds to have a strike at goal and then Niko Kranjcar came close soon after.
Scramble
Joe Hart was called into action when he had to scramble to his left to stop Van der Vaart from putting Spurs in front.
Nasri linked up well throughout with tricky Spaniard David Silva. The pair began carving open a shaky Tottenham midfield and Dzeko was forever keeping Dawson guessing in what was a miserable afternoon for the centre-half.
Former Gunner Nasri, whose every touch was booed by the home fans, sounded a warning to the home team when he skipped through the Spurs back line only and it needed Kaboul to put in a crucial tackle to prevent the fairytale debut for the Frenchman.
Hart had to pull off a save from Van der Vaart on two further occasions but they came at a time when City really got into their stride and began to dominate possession.
That pressure nearly counted when Friedel had to save well from Silva's goal-bound effort to push it wide.
City finally opened the deadlock with Nasri the architect. He started the move with a neat one-two with Aguero before lofting his cross into the box which Dzeko poked past Friedel.
Blocks from Vincent Kompany and Joleon Lescott denied Van der Vaart before Crouch went within inches of equalising when he lept to direct a diving header just past the post from a Gareth Bale cross.
Nasri was full of confidence and set-up the second for City and Dzeko as he raced up the other end of the pitch and whipped in a cross for the former Wolfsburg striker to expertly head home.
Silva could have made it 3-0 in injury-time as Spurs seemed desperate to go into the interval without the scoreline increasing.
Kranjcar came off for Tom Huddlestone and Lennon, who suffered a leg injury, made way for Jermain Defoe as Redknapp looked to ring the changes and claw something back from the game.
Dzeko was hungry for more goals and could have had his hat-trick earlier than it came when he glanced a header just wide of Friedel's goal.
He eventually made amends though when he got on the end of Yaya Toure's square ball to smash it into the roof of the net for his sixth goal in four games.
Misery
Spurs' misery was further compounded when Aguero brushed past Dawson and rifled the ball past Friedel.
Micah Richards came on for Pablo Zabaleta and Redknapp replaced Luka Modric with Jake Livermore, and as the Croatian left the field he was greeted with a mixed response from fans as he mulls over his future.
Spurs were galvanized by the introduction of Defoe who opted to shoot practically everytime he had the ball and forced Hart into more than one excellent save.
From one of Defoe's drives, Spurs won a corner which saw Kaboul rise highest and connect with a thunderbolt header from Van der Vaart's corner for a consolation.
Van der Vaart later went off with a hamstring injury as Redknapp's troubles deepened having used all three substitutes. City took advantage of their ten men and punished them once more through man of the match Dzeko.
After a tight one-two, he curled the ball past a helpless Friedel at his far-post to cap off a memorable performance and one Spurs will want to forget.
| Tottenham Hotspur |
Team Statistics |
Manchester City |
| 1 |
Goals |
5 |
| 0 |
1st Half Goals |
2 |
| 5 |
Shots on Target |
9 |
| 6 |
Shots off Target |
10 |
| 10 |
Blocked Shots |
3 |
| 10 |
Corners |
5 |
| 14 |
Fouls |
11 |
| 1 |
Offsides |
3 |
| 2 |
Yellow Cards |
4 |
| 0 |
Red Cards |
0 |
| 80 |
Passing Success |
88.4 |
| 18 |
Tackles |
12 |
| 77.8 |
Tackles Success |
66.7 |
| 41.5 |
Possession |
58.5 |
| 54.1 |
Territorial Advantage |
45.9 |
|
