Manchester City suffered a shocking 4-0 defeat to Tottenham at the Etihad on Saturday, marking their fifth consecutive loss and ending their 52-game unbeaten home run.
James Maddison netted twice in the first half, with Pedro Porro adding a third against his former club, and Brennan Johnson completing the rout.
This is City’s first loss at home from open play since just before the 2022 World Cup, leaving them five points behind Premier League leaders Liverpool, who play at bottom-of-the-table Southampton on Sunday.
Tottenham’s victory eased the pressure on manager Ange Postecoglou, lifting them into the top six.
City manager Pep Guardiola, who signed a contract extension until 2027 earlier this week, is now tasked with reversing the worst run of his managerial career.
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His hopes that the new deal could inspire a turnaround for the defending champions — who had won an unprecedented four straight Premier League titles — were dashed in spectacular fashion.
Before kick-off, Rodri paraded his Ballon d’Or trophy to the Etihad crowd, with his name shining across the pitch in a grand tribute to the Spanish midfielder.
Unfortunately for City, Rodri’s absence due to knee ligament damage — suffered in September — has been a significant blow to their form.
Despite a strong start, where Guglielmo Vicario denied Erling Haaland and saw another of the Norwegian’s shots deflected wide, the tide turned on Tottenham’s first real attack after 13 minutes.
Dejan Kulusevski’s cross found Maddison, who calmly finished with a first-time strike. Maddison, having recently been sidelined from Postecoglou’s starting XI, was eager to prove himself and did so in style.
Tottenham’s lead was doubled in the 25th minute, as Son Heung-min’s clever pass put Maddison through, and the England international dinked the ball over Ederson to make it 2-0.
Tottenham’s inconsistency had been a theme this season, with a 2-1 loss to Ipswich leaving them 10th in the league before the international break.
However, they’ve now won convincingly twice in Manchester, following a 3-0 victory over Manchester United at Old Trafford earlier in the campaign.
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City almost pulled one back before halftime when Haaland’s shot hit the bar, but Spurs quickly put the game to bed early in the second half.
Seven minutes after the break, Kulusevski crossed for Dominic Solanke, whose clever lay-off allowed Porro to smash home from close range to make it 3-0.
Haaland was denied by another fine save from Vicario, and with City unable to find a way back into the game, Tottenham struck again.
Timo Werner breezed past Kyle Walker and crossed for Johnson to tap in at the far post, completing the 4-0 rout.
City’s only bright spot came with Kevin De Bruyne making a late substitute appearance after a two-month injury absence.
However, Guardiola faces a major challenge in turning around his side’s fortunes, with their next match a daunting trip to Anfield to face Liverpool — a venue where City haven’t won in front of a crowd since 2003.
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