Cold comfort among chaos in another Spurs thriller

BLUES GO THIRD LEAGUE GAME WITHOUT A WIN

- SIMON BAJKOWSKI

IT was cold enough to see your breath in Manchester but it felt like a full house at the Etihad held theirs during another blockbuster between Manchester City and Tottenham.

Pep Guardiola and Ange Postcoglou had promised a thriller and both teams delivered, serving up the latest episode in a cracking series between the two that stretches back decades and has certainly continued in recent years. By the end of an afternoon that was less Ballet on Ice and more Stampede on Grass, Spurs were the happier with an action-packed 3-3 draw as the Premier League champions go winless for three league games for the first time since 2017.

City began the contest like a side that knew there was space to exploit as they toyed with Spurs, knocking the ball from side to side and giving Jeremy Doku space to run at his man.

Backed to start again ahead of Jack Grealish on the left, it looked like being another fruitful afternoon for the young speedster.

Yet the football gods are not always so generous, especially given they appear to enjoy the chaos of City matches with Spurs. And Doku's first goal contribution was misjudging a Spurs break that allowed Son Heung-min to race ahead of him with the ball and smash it through Ederson to score an opener. Once again, City were poor from front to back defensively as they conceded from their own corner. And once again, Son was the scourge as he netted his eighth goal against them in all competitions.

Guardiola has said the greatest strikers in the game will score goals until they die and Son has certainly earned his place alongside Mo Salah and Jamie Vardy in Guardiola's nightmares.