Manchester: Manchester City stumbled at home against Tottenham here, squandering leads on a pair of occasions before the match ended in a 2-2 draw.
The two-time defending Premier League champions were unable to secure three points at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday night despite playing at a higher level overall than Mauricio Pochettino’s men, Efe news reports.The key figure of the match was French goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, who broke up numerous chances created by the local side, while at the other end of the field the Spurs’ attackers were opportunistic in turning scoring opportunities into goals.The Citizens revved up their attack over a 15-minute stretch of the first half thanks to the play of Kevin De Bruyne, who set up both of the home team’s goals. The first came in the 20th minute when a curving pass from outside the area by the Belgian midfielder found Raheem Sterling, who got behind Tottenham’s defenders and headed the ball inside the far post from close range. Spurs, however, struck back just three minutes later on an accurate shot from outside the area by Erik Lamela, who had been set up by a pass from Tanguy Ndombele. Manchester City took the lead back once again though on another play facilitated by De Bruyne, who sent in a ball from the right side that Sergio Aguero managed to poke into the left half of the goal past Lloris in the 35th minute.That advantage lasted around 20 minutes, but Tottenham managed to equalize a second time in minute 56 on a header by Lucas Moura. (IANS)
