Erling Haaland breaks Man City's Spurs curse as Ange Postecoglou gamble fails

Erling Haaland already has as many Golden Boots as Cinderella has glass slippers.

But as Manchester City's goal machine bagged his 20th Premier League goal of the season, he looked in the mood for another pair of designer footwear and all cobblers’ leave was cancelled in English football’s heartlands. In a curate’s egg of a contrast, City should have been home and hosed by the interval but ended up hanging on grimly to move within a point of third-place Nottingham Forest.

Can we play you every week? In all competitions, Spurs have beaten City more than any other club at their new stadium, winning six of their previous eight meetings in N17.

And if they tiptoed through the thrombosis of north London traffic with trepidation, City had every reason to approach their nemesis with caution. Unbeaten this season until they came unstuck here in the League Cup four months ago, that defeat began the tailspin in which Guardiola 's season unravelled like a puppy trailing a toilet roll through the house.

But City were in the mood to make amends from the moment Savinho spun away form Kevin Danso, fed Jeremy Doku on the left flank and the Belgian’s deflected cross was swept home by Haaland after 12 minutes.

The Norwegian devoured his 28th goal of the season with the simplicity of putting the cat out as Tottenham began under the mistaken belief that walking football would be a match for City’s renewed intensity. Instead of the goal serving as a wake-up call, however, Tottenham merely hit the snooze button.

Before half an hour had elapsed, Savinho was guilty of a glaring miss from another Doku cross and Haaland was only denied a second by Guglielmo Vicario’s legs when he should have scored. City were more in command than a Michelin-starred chef with a food mixer, so Danso’s looping header from Porro’s free-kick, tipped to safety by City keeper Ederson, was out of kilter with the previous 44 minutes like a hair in your soup.

If Tottenham were grateful to reach the break without needing snookers to retrieve the deficit, they were also lucky that head coach Ange Postecoglou's selection had not backfired beyond repair.

Who was the man-of-the-match between Spurs and Man City? Share your thoughts in the comments below

To rest his most consistent performer this season, Dejan Kulusevski, was an understandable concession. To leave his captain, Son Heung-min, on the bench was also a nod to the South Korean’s workload.

But to omit Djed Spence, probably Spurs’ best player in their three-match winning streak earlier this month, may have been a liberty too far against such accomplished visitors.

By the time all three appeared, after 66 minutes, Tottenham had finally stirred from the their torpor, Wilson Odobert had prodded Porro’s cross wide at the far post and the tide was turning. Another substitute, Pape Sarr, shanked a simple finish wide from Spence’s cross and Son was denied by Ederson’s enduring reflexes as City’s fist-half domination evaporated like the steam from a kettle.

And in the eighth minute of added time, seconds after Haaland thought he had clinched the points only for his celebrations to be commuted by a borderline handball decision, Sarr bundled over a last-gasp chance to snatch a point.

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