Football Live

Sunday March 16, 2008 Finished City of Manchester Stadium

Logo 2 - Tottenham 1

Manchester City

  • Ireland 59’
  • Onuoha 71’

Tottenham Hotspur

  • Keane 32’
  1. City comeback ends poor run

    City comeback ends poor run

    Manchester City got their season back up and running with a 2-1 comeback victory over Tottenham Hotspur at the City of Manchester Stadium. More

  • Live Commentary

    Time:90'
    • Manchester City
    • Tottenham Hotspur
    • - Thanks for joining me this afternoon; make sure you stick around for all the latest news from the Premier League.
    • 92 FULL-TIME: Onuoha's first goal for the club hands City their first home win for three months and ends a poor run.
    • 90 Berbatov is furious as Huddlestone takes the ball off him when he looked well-placed to control on his chest on the edge of the box.
    • 89 Caidedo does well to hold the ball up in the corner after a strong run down the left to relieve some pressure on the City defence...
    • 88 CITY SUB: Eriksson goes for a defensive change, bringing Sun Jihai on for Benjani, who has run the channels so well this afternoon.
    • 86 Bent earns a corner for Spurs as the visitors really crank up the pressure on City, who are dropping deeper and deeper...
    • 85 OFFSIDE! O'Hara's deep free-kick is prodded home by Bent...only for the Spurs celebrations to be cut short by an erroneous flag for Berbatov being offside at the back stick from the initial free-kick.
    • 83 Spurs are pressing for an equaliser now, City are going to have to be alert right until the final whistle...Bent tries to nod a header into the path of Zokora, but Dunne clears.
    • 81 SPILLED! Hart makes a bit of a mess of Berbatov's tame shot, spilling the ball out for a cheap corner...the keeper makes ammends with a strong punch at the corner.
    • 79 SAFE HANDS! Huddlestone gets on the end of a flick on before powering in a low shot from 25 yards...Hart collects well, with Berbatov waiting for any slip.
    • 77 WIDE! Vassell's low cross is dummied by Ireland...the ball breaks to Johnson...but his instinctive flick goalwards flies wide from five yards out! Great chance to kill the game off.
    • 75 CITY SUB: Elano is replaced by Caicedo, the 19-year-old Ecuador international.
    • 74 So, City have come from behind...can they hold on for only their third league win of the year?
    • 73 GOAL! AND CITY SCORE! ONUOHA! The young defender loses his marker at Elano's corner, and thumps a powerful header past Robinson.
    • 72 Vassell's first contribution is to win his side a corner...
    • 71 CITY SUB: Vassell comes on to replace Castillo, who has looked threatening...until he comes to shooting.
    • 69 Jenas is caught offside after getting on the end of O'Hara's pass...he is lucky not to get booked for shooting long after the whistle went.
    • 68 Benjani needs some treatment after taking a blow on his face...he's okay, though.
    • 67 SPURS SUBS: Bent and O'Hara come on for a furious Keane and Malbranque...Keane storms off, throws his training jacket down on the ground in the substitute's area.
    • 65 Superb skill from Elano as he controls a throw, working himself some space on the left...he has been back to somewhere close to his best this afternoon.
    • 63 Spurs win another corner...Jenas' centre is again cleared at the near post. Poor set-piece delivery today from the England man.
    • 61 Ireland appeared to be the player Sven was about to withdraw to bring Vassell on just moments before he scored! What a stroke of luck for the home side.
    • 59 GOAL! IRELAND! Benjani picks out Castillo with a cross to the back post...the Mexican mis-hits his shot, Elano heads on, and Ireland turns the ball home from six yards!
    • 58 OVER! City win a corner...Elano's set-piece is flicked on at the near post, but Dunne can only deflect the ball over the bar.
    • 57 Signs of movement on the City bench...
    • 56 SHOT! Huddlestone sends a low fizzer goalwards from 25 yards...Hart collects comfortably.
    • 55 The more City press, the more confident Spurs will be that they can get a second on the break...
    • 54 City continue to cause Spurs problems, but they just can't get the goal...their problem all season long.
    • 53 SHOULD HAVE SCORED! Benjani does superbly to pick out Castillo with a low cut-back...but the little Mexican just wants too much time to get his shot away, and Robinson blocks at the near post.
    • 51 City give the ball away in their own half...Berbatov tries to flick a pass through to Keane, but Dunne intercepts on the edge of his penalty area.
    • 49 BLOCKED! Benjani turns, gets through the middle, but his shot from the edge of the box is blocked by Woodgate.
    • 48 Spurs brought Huddlestone on for Lennon at the break...Ramos must be looking to get tighter in midfield.
    • 47 Spurs win an early corner at the start of the second half...Jenas's set-piece is cleared at the near post by Benjani.
    • 46 The second half is underway...
    • 45 HALF-TIME: City will be wondering how they are going in 1-0 down...they have had plenty of chances in the opening 45 minutes.
    • 44 THROUGH! Castillo is put through by Johnson once again...this time he tries to drag the ball back on to his left foot, but Chimbonda gets back to tackle before he can get his shot in. Fine defending.
    • 43 Lennon pops up down the centre...he runs at the City defence before shooting from the edge of the box...dragged well wide.
    • 41 Corluka shows good strength to hold off Keane, who had turned superbly on the edge of the box...he has been a real handful for City this afternoon.
    • 39 Elano teams up well with Castillo down the right...but his first-time cut-back is cut out by Hutton. Corner.
    • 38 The game has really opened up over the last 10 minutes or so...both sides are attacking with real verve.
    • 37 SAVE! Elano feigns, before firing in a firm left-foot shot from a tight angle...Robinson is up to it, pushing the effort away from goal.
    • 36 Another fine pass picked out by Johnson, who clips a ball into Elano in the area...he tries to lay it off to Benjani, but Dawson intercepts.
    • 35 POOR FINISH! A superb interception from Johnson before he slides a fine pass into the run of Castillo...his first touch just takes him away from goal, and he rather slices his right-foot effort wide of the near post.
    • 33 Spurs look the sharper side now...Lennon runs cross-pitch before reversing a pass over to Jenas, but the City defence gets back.
    • 31 GOAL! FINE GOAL! Corluka's missed interception allows Chimbonda in...the full-back picks out the run of Keane inside him, and the striker lashes a fine left-foot finish, first-time inside the far post!
    • 29 Corluka hacks Malbranque's low cross out of danger as Spurs enjoy a spell in the City half.
    • 27 BLOCK! Benjani picks out Johnson with a low cross...the young midfielder gets his shot away, blocked by the chest of Dawson...the ball isn't cleared...more panic...eventually hacked clear.
    • 26 Lennon wastes the chance to put a decent ball into the box when he leads a break down the right...wasted chance for the visitors.
    • 25 Castillo is getting plenty of the ball this afternoon, and he is looking very spritely...he has been out for a while with a dislocated shoulder, but looks keen to make an impression.
    • 24 NO-MAN'S LAND! Hart attempts to come for a deep free-kick into the box...he gets no-where near it, and is lucky that the ball isn't clipped back into the danger area.
    • 21 Spurs were the first side not to be beaten by City at the City of Manchester Stadium this season; the Blues won 10 straight games at home before Tottenham came here and won in the Carling Cup in December.
    • 19 Garrido's cross is controlled by Benjani...he tries to lay the ball into the path of Castillo, but the Mexican just can't shift the ball on to his left boot to shoot.
    • 17 It's been a bit of a cagey opening, although both sides are knocking the ball about with confidence.
    • 16 Nice move from City, as Castillo and Ireland combine to find Elano in the box, but the Brazilian just can't get the ball out of his feet in time to get his shot away.
    • 14 Castillo intercepts Zokora's loose pass, trying to release Benjani down the right, but the move breaks down with a poor pass to Ireland.
    • 13 Keane breaks the offside trap as he sprints onto Hutton's pass, but Hart just comes out to collect before the Spurs captain can nick it.
    • 12 Jenas fires over from the edge of the penalty box after Keane had laid the ball off to him.
    • 10 GOOD BLOCK! A nice move from City as Castillo feeds Benjani, who sends a good low cross into the box looking for Elano...Dawson blocks at the near post.
    • 9 Both sets of fans are in good voice this afternoon; great atmosphere at the moment.
    • 8 Spurs win a free-kick when Dunne fouls Berbatov 45 yards from goal...Jenas floats the set-piece straight into the hands of Hart.
    • 7 Castillo is just caught offside...he looks to be playing on the right this afternoon, or at least, that's where he is appearing most in the early stages.
    • 6 Benjani wins his side a corner with a determined run into the Spurs penalty area, Woodgate shutting the door in his face.
    • 5 City have a very young midfield today...Ireland is 19, Johnson 20, Gelson 21 and Castillo 23.
    • 4 CLOSE! Keane does superbly to hold off his marker on the by-line...he beats Onuoha with a nice turn, but his shot from a tight angle flies wide of the far post.
    • 3 Corluka does well to get into the area from the right, but his low cross is weak and cleared at the near post.
    • 2 Berbatov is just caught offside as he tries to get on the end of Hutton's long ball from the right-back position...
    • 1 We're underway...
    • - Hi there; welcome to our coverage of this afternoon's Premier League clash between Manchester City and Tottenham...

  • Team Stats

    Manchester City Stats Tottenham Hotspur
    47% Possession 52%
    14 Shots 11
    6 Shots on target 4
    0 Saves 4
    5 Corners 5
    3 Fouls 12
    4 Offsides 8
    0 Yellow cards 0
    0 Red cards 0
    28 Tackles 32
    316 Accurate passes 380
    70 Bad passes 51

  • Player Stats

    G =
    Goals
    S =
    Shots
    SoT =
    Shot on Target
    F =
    Fouls
    FW =
    Fouls Won
    O =
    Offsides
    A =
    Assists
    AP =
    Accurate Passes
    BP =
    Bad Passes
    T =
    Tackles
    • Manchester City
      G S SoT F FW O A AP BP T
      25 Joe Hart 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 1 0
      22 Richard Dunne 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 32 3 2
      16 Vedran Corluka 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 21 0 2
      24 Javier Garrido 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 36 16 3
      4 Nedum Onuoha 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 24 1 2
      11 Blumer Elano 0 2 1 1 0 0 2 34 13 1
      28 Gelson Fernandes 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 39 11 5
      6 Michael Johnson 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 29 2 4
      7 Stephen Ireland 1 2 2 0 0 0 0 34 10 3
      27 Benjamin Mwaruwari 0 2 1 3 0 2 0 26 4 1
      30 Nery Castillo 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 23 4 1
      12 Darius Vassell 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 1 1
      8 Marcio Geovanni 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      1 Andreas Isaksson 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      20 Felipe Caicedo 0 2 1 3 0 0 0 6 4 2
      17 Sun Jihai 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 1
    • Tottenham Hotspur
      G S SoT F FW O A AP BP T
      1 Paul Robinson 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 12 2 0
      39 Jonathan Woodgate 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 37 5 4
      2 Pascal Chimbonda 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 32 14 4
      28 Alan Hutton 0 1 0 2 4 1 0 36 0 4
      20 Michael Dawson 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 47 3 1
      8 Jermaine Jenas 0 1 0 2 2 1 0 59 5 3
      4 Didier Zokora 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 43 3 1
      25 Aaron Lennon 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 7 0 1
      15 Steed Malbranque 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 28 10 4
      9 Dimitar Berbatov 0 1 1 0 3 3 0 32 2 2
      10 Robbie Keane 1 2 1 0 0 2 0 14 2 0
      22 Tom Huddlestone 0 3 2 0 0 0 0 20 3 5
      12 Radek Cerny 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      6 Teemu Tainio 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      24 Jamie O'Hara 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 9 2 3
      23 Darren Bent 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 0

  • Summary

    • 85 OFFSIDE! O'Hara's deep free-kick is prodded home by Bent...only for the Spurs celebrations to be cut short by an erroneous flag for Berbatov being offside at the back stick from the initial free-kick.
    • 77 WIDE! Vassell's low cross is dummied by Ireland...the ball breaks to Johnson...but his instinctive flick goalwards flies wide from five yards out! Great chance to kill the game off.
    • 73 GOAL! AND CITY SCORE! ONUOHA! The young defender loses his marker at Elano's corner, and thumps a powerful header past Robinson.
    • 59 GOAL! IRELAND! Benjani picks out Castillo with a cross to the back post...the Mexican mis-hits his shot, Elano heads on, and Ireland turns the ball home from six yards!
    • 44 THROUGH! Castillo is put through by Johnson once again...this time he tries to drag the ball back on to his left foot, but Chimbonda gets back to tackle before he can get his shot in. Fine defending.
    • 35 POOR FINISH! A superb interception from Johnson before he slides a fine pass into the run of Castillo...his first touch just takes him away from goal, and he rather slices his right-foot effort wide of the near post.
    • 31 GOAL! FINE GOAL! Corluka's missed interception allows Chimbonda in...the full-back picks out the run of Keane inside him, and the striker lashes a fine left-foot finish, first-time inside the far post!
    • 27 BLOCK! Benjani picks out Johnson with a low cross...the young midfielder gets his shot away, blocked by the chest of Dawson...the ball isn't cleared...more panic...eventually hacked clear.
    • 24 NO-MAN'S LAND! Hart attempts to come for a deep free-kick into the box...he gets no-where near it, and is lucky that the ball isn't clipped back into the danger area.
    • 10 GOOD BLOCK! A nice move from City as Castillo feeds Benjani, who sends a good low cross into the box looking for Elano...Dawson blocks at the near post.
    • 4 CLOSE! Keane does superbly to hold off his marker on the by-line...he beats Onuoha with a nice turn, but his shot from a tight angle flies wide of the far post.

Live Team Line-Up

  • Referee: Mark Clattenburg

  • Manchester City

    Manager: Sven-Göran Eriksson

    Captain: Richard Dunne

    On the Field

    • Hart
    • Onuoha Goal
    • Corluka
    • Dunne
    • Garrido
    • Gelson
    • Ireland Goal
    • Johnson
    • Elano Substitution Out (76′)
    • Benjani Substitution Out (88′)
    • Castillo

    Subs

    • Vassell
    • Isaksson
    • Geovanni
    • Sun Substitution In (88′)
    • Felipe Caicedo Substitution In (75′)

    Injured

    • Ball
    • Bojinov
    • Richards

    Suspended

    • Hamann
    • Petrov

  • Tottenham Hotspur

    Manager: Juande Ramos

    On the Field

    • Robinson
    • Hutton
    • Woodgate
    • Dawson
    • Chimbonda
    • Lennon Substitution Out (45′)
    • Jenas
    • Zokora
    • Malbranque Substitution Out (66′)
    • Berbatov
    • Keane Goal Substitution Out (66′)

    Subs

    • Tainio
    • Bent Substitution In (66′)
    • Huddlestone Substitution In (45′)
    • Cerny
    • O'Hara Substitution In (66′)

    Injured

    • Rocha
    • Kaboul
    • Assou-Ekotto
    • Bale

    Suspended

    None