Manchester City will be in control of the title race on the final day of the season after a 2-0 victory over Tottenham in their penultimate match on Tuesday night. Erling Haaland’s second-half brace proved decisive for Pep Guardiola’s side and has left Arsenal’s title hopes in the hands of West Ham. City know victory at the weekend will secure a fourth successive title. Express Sport takes a look at five key talking points from the match…
City put one hand on the title
Haaland’s goals mean that the reigning champions can win the Premier League on sunday with a victory against West Ham at the Etihad Stadium.
Arsenal must beat Everton and hope that City fail to secure all three points against the Hammers if they are to return to the top of the table on the final day of the season.
The Gunners are two points behind which means a draw at the Etihad and a home win at the Emirates would see both teams end on 89 points. Arsenal’s goal difference is currently one goal better than City’s.
Two touchline tantrums
Ederson and Rodrigo Bentancur both failed to keep a lid on their emotions in a tense second-half. The latter was furious when he was replaced by Dejan Kulusevski in the 55th minute, launching a water bottle in disgust on the sidelines while viciously kicking one of the seats in the dugout.
Ederson was equally infuriated after being substituted off for the excellent Stefan Ortega between the sticks, booting an object in temper as he left the pitch.
The Brazil international was on the receiving end of a late challenge from Cristian Romero just moments prior, and Guardiola was not keen to take any chances with his goalkeeper who will be a fitness doubt for Sunday’s final match.
Eerie atmosphere
The atmosphere at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium was nothing short of bizarre on Tuesday night. The Spurs faithful appeared reluctant to spur their troops on, knowing any result for their team would help bitter rivals Arsenal in the title race.
The eerie silence through the opening stages of the contest certainly took its toll on the players. The first half was lacking in tempo as both sides struggled.
And it was incredibly tense in the second half too before City prevailed.
Gvardiol thriving
It took him some time to get to grips with life at City, but Josko Gvardiol has found his best form at the perfect time in the season for his club. The defender has grown into the ideal City left-back, proving a force in the final third whilst remaining solid when out of possession.
The Croatia international has become one of the first names on the team-sheet in recent weeks with his willingness to cut inside but also stay wide and stretch the pitch, and he will only improve next season as well.
Van de Ven left-back struggles
Micky van de Ven has been sensational for Spurs this season, but he struggled playing as a makeshift left-back on Tuesday night.
The Dutchman naturally stayed narrow which provided Kyle Walker with acres of space to roam into and plenty of attacks came down the City right-hand side as a result – with Heung-min Son staying forward and not helping out his team-mate defensively due to Spurs’ lack of a striker.
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