Manchester City's Premier League title hopes were dealt a fresh blow on Sunday as Harry Kane broke Tottenham's scoring record to give 10-man Spurs a 1-0 win at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Pep Guardiola's side remain five points behind leaders Arsenal, but have now played a game more after a lacklustre display in which they failed to meaningfully test Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris.
Kane's 15th-minute strike saw him surpass club legend Jimmy Greaves on 267 goals for Spurs, who now sit just one point outside the Champions League places in fifth place. Then Cristian Romero was sent off four minutes from time for a second yellow card offence following two poor challenges, the first on Erling Haaland inside the opening half an hour and the second on Jack Grealish.
Arsenal opened the door for Manchester City, but they couldn't walk through it. The Gunners' 1-0 defeat at Everton a day earlier meant City could turn up the heat in the title race on Sunday, but despite dominating possession against Tottenham, they created very little of note in a sterile performance.
Arsenal produced arguably their poorest display of the campaign yet at Goodison Park, and they will have watched nervously as City attempted to close the gap. However, even though City are proven over course and distance after four titles in five years, they looked curiously flat here.
There is still plenty of time in the season, but Guardiola voiced concerns after last month's reverse fixture -- in which Man City were 2-0 down only to come back and win 4-2 -- over his team's hunger for the fight, and questions will resurface after they were outfought by a Spurs side trying to revive their own Champions League ambitions.
Curiously, perhaps there is something about this ground for the visitors: City have played five times at this expensive new stadium, losing all five without scoring a goal.
2. Kane breaks Tottenham record
It's official: Kane is the most prolific goalscorer in Tottenham's history. Collecting Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg's 15th-minute pass inside the box, the 29-year-old showed his trademark composure to dispatch a low finish beyond Ederson for his 267th Spurs goal, taking him clear of Jimmy Greaves. In doing so, Kane became only the third player to score 200 goals in the Premier League era after Alan Shearer (260) and Wayne Rooney (208). Kane is also the quickest to reach that milestone, having required 304 games compared to Shearer (306) and Rooney (462).
In an on-pitch interview afterwards, Kane described it as a "magical feeling" reflecting on joining the club as an 11-year-old, citing the "hard work and dedication" to get to this point. The England captain continues to rack up personal achievements, but the nagging issue in Kane's career is that he has no silverware to show for his individual talent. A lack of trophies was Kane's motivation in trying to force a move to City in 2021 -- a move that Spurs blocked despite the player's desire to leave, leading Pep Guardiola to switch his sights to Erling Haaland.
Kane's options have narrowed should he still want to leave -- Manchester United are regularly mooted as a possible destination -- but regardless, Tottenham must find a way to win major honours with a regularity befitting one of the game's finest forwards.
3. Guardiola's tinkering confuses the issue
The City boss is one of the greatest managers in history, yet one of the few consistent criticisms he faces is a tendency to overcomplicate his team's approach to big matches. This felt like another game to add to the list.
