A night that started with a celebration for Rodri ended with nothing but despair for Manchester City.
The defending English champions could get nothing going against Tottenham Hotspur in their first match back from the November international break. Within 20 minutes, Manchester City was already down by two goals thanks to a James Maddison brace. The birthday boy poked home a brilliant cross from Dejan Kulusevski in the 13th minute and then finished a clever one-two with Son Heung-min just seven minutes later.
JAMES MADDISON STRIKES AGAIN. 2-0 TO TOTTENHAM.
— NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) November 23, 2024
📺 NBC and Peacock | #MCITOT pic.twitter.com/hoO2OVNLXE
The game went from bad to worse in the second half when Pedro Porro found a third for the visitors in the 52nd minute. Just when the game looked done and dusted, Timo Werner pounced on an awful giveaway from Jack Grealish and sparked a counter attack that ended with a Brennan Johnson goal in the 93rd minute.
FOUR-NIL.
— NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) November 23, 2024
BRENNAN JOHNSON PUTS THE CHERRY ON TOP FOR TOTTENHAM. pic.twitter.com/zLmyjgj0Uz
City could do nothing but watch dejectedly as Spurs celebrated their 0–4 win at the Etihad. The victory comes just three weeks after Tottenham defeated City 2–1 in the Carabao Cup, eliminating Pep Guardiola's side from the competition.
Suffering a defeat is one thing, but losing by four goals and scoring zero at home is unchartered territory for City. The Citizens have now only been held goalless at the Etihad twice in its last 58 home matches; the last time City could not find the back of the net at home came in a scoreless draw with Arsenal on Mar. 31.
Not to mention, this same Tottenham side handed Ipswich Town its first win of the 2024–25 Premier League season just two weeks ago. Yet Guardiola's men looked uninspired against Spurs and greatly missed Rodri and Mateo Kovačić's physicality in the midfield. Even Erling Haaland seemed out of sorts, managing just two shots on target out of seven.
Just days after extending his contract as City's boss, Guardiola has now lost five matches in a row for the first time in his coaching career. City lost to Spurs twice, was defeated by Bournemouth and Brighton & Hove Albion in the Premier League and thrashed by Sporting CP in the Champions League.
Assuming Liverpool collects three points from Southampton this weekend, City will trail the Reds by eight points. With a trip to Anfield on the horizon, Guardiola and his men need to figure something out quick or else they could find their gap to Liverpool even greater by this time next weekend.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Manchester City's Crisis Deepens With Fifth Consecutive Loss.
