Harry Kane became Tottenham’s record goal-scorer on on Sunday (Picture: Getty Images)
Harry Kane scored the only goal of the game as Tottenham beat Manchester City 1-0 in north London, delighting their local rivals Arsenal in the process.
Kane’s scuffed strike 15 minutes into the match saw him become Tottenham’s record goal-scorer with 267 strikes for the club, 200 of which have now come in the Premier League.
It is a huge three points for Spurs, who remain firmly in the hunt for a Champions League place next season, but it is also massive for the Gunners.
Mikel Arteta’s men suffered a shock defeat at Everton on Saturday but remain five points clear at the top of the Premier League table thanks to their closest rivals also stumbling this weekend.
Manchester United finish the weekend as the only team in the top four to win a match and are now just three points behind City and eight adrift of Arsenal.
Spurs continue their excellent recent record against Man City at home, wining the last four Premier League meetings with Guardiola’s men in north London.
City made a bright start to the game and had chances early on, with Nathan Ake afforded a free header just yards from goal and Julian Alvarez hitting a shot that was blocked in the opening minutes.
Spurs absorbed the early pressure, though, and got themselves ahead on 15 minutes with their first real chance and with Kane’s first involvement in the game.
Rodri made a poor mistake, giving the ball away just outside his own box to an onrushing Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, who did brilliantly to burst into the area and then poke it into the path of Kane.
It did not look a clean strike from the England captain, but his effort that went straight into the ground bounced past Ederson to put Spurs ahead and confirm Kane as the leading scorer in Tottenham’s history with his 267th goal for the club.
The rest of the half then felt pretty level, with the visitors dominating possession as they always do, but neither side really carving out clear cut opportunities until just seconds before the break.
The Premier League champions were centimetres from being level as a Jack Grealish cross eventually fell to Riyad Mahrez who controlled and then tried to curl an effort into the far top corner with his left foot. He only slightly misjudged it as it came back off the crossbar, with Spurs’ lead remaining intact at half-time.
Guardiola must have been tempted to bring on Kevin De Bruyne at half-time but he waited until just before the hour mark to unleash the Belgian superstar as he searched for an equaliser.
De Bruyne did start to make things tick a bit more effectively for Manchester City and nearly set up a goal five minutes after coming on as he teed up Alvarez, but his effort was deflected wide.
City were improving, but Spurs were still dangerous, with Kane bustling though on goal but Ederson rushing out impressively to smother his effort. Tottenham’s main man almost scored again when Ivan Perisic slid in a low cross that Kane lunged for but couldn’t quite get on the end of to poke home.
Spurs were looking pretty comfortable, but things got more difficult for them as 90 minutes approached thanks to a red card for Cristian Romero.
The centre-back had been booked in the first half for a rash lunge on Erling Haaland and got a second yellow for tripping Jack Grealish late on.
Spurs held on though, and dug deep to pick up three points in Antonio Conte’s absence due to illness, with Cristian Stellini leading the side from the touchline.
MORE : Harry Kane breaks Jimmy Greaves record to become Tottenham’s all-time top scorer
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Spurs help out their fierce rivals with a big win.
