James Maddison had been running up and down the touchline with increasing determination for at least five minutes when the call finally came, his eyes turning more and more frequently to the technical area. A match that rarely rises above the low hum level was 72 minutes long and something, someone, was needed. Tottenham’s support had only known him for three months and he had made just 11 official appearances when he suffered an ankle injury in November. The noise that greeted his return to the field spoke volumes about the heady love affair all parties had fallen into last summer.
The stage may have been set for a quick resumption of the love affair but Manchester City have already called for a comeback king who changes games with as much ease as ordinary mortals breathe. Kevin De Bruyne has not started a match for five and a half months and was not deemed fit to start here, instead making a third substitute appearance after his hamstring problems resolved. As Maddison tried to get into Ange Postecoglou’s line of sight, Pep Guardiola calmly unloaded the most powerful weapon he could use. It was De Bruyne who injected the attacking clout that had been missing for over an hour, despite all City’s braided patterns and half-shot chances, and his influence finally unlocked.
Relating to: Nathan Aké’s late winner ends Manchester City’s vacant run at Spurs
This had always felt like a night defined by the players outside the starting 11. Son Heung-min tops Tottenham’s list of regulars whose international tournaments have been disrupted by international tournaments or injuries; There is no need to dwell too much on Erling Haaland’s ongoing absence from City. The loss of such critical components, along with their urgency, physicality and class, was always going to dilute the fare on offer here. The presence of Maddison and De Bruyne in their respective benches at least promised to make it rich.
De Bruyne, who had the best chance of the game after Pierre-Emile Højbjerg was pickpocketed by Phil Foden, thought it might have taken longer to clear the pass in the 32nd minute when he cleared it in the 82nd minute. His previous outing was to Newcastle, but perhaps the old rhythm hadn’t quite settled in.
But he had already increased City’s tempo, countering a shoulder charge from Micky van de Ven near the right touchline and darting beyond his own midfield. There was even time to help Cristian Romero from cramping up but the final blow came from a corner and fell cynically into the six-yard box, Guglielmo Vicario’s tackle allowing Nathan Aké to convert. It was City’s first goal at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium: De Bruyne had created another small moment of history for his collection, which inevitably brought them together in much larger collections.
“He took an outstanding corner at the right spot,” Guardiola said of De Bruyne. “I want to protect him. You always realize in these types of games that eventually, when he gets a little more open, he’s going to create.”
De Bruyne showed how it was done. With the score still goalless, Maddison dropped deep and played a neat pass to Destiny Udogie, which didn’t provide much of an opening.
At this point, there was a sense that these two creative forces might spend the final stages matching each other, blow after blow, meandering through the third stages with the feathered slide rule. But it was Oliver Skipp who came alongside Maddison, brought the loudest applause to the house with a bold comeback and exploded in his own half moments before Spurs’ fate was sealed. A character who enjoys living in the moment, Maddison has had to settle for the buzzword of contemporary football: minutes in the legs.
He will benefit from these, and so will Spurs. This was probably their most reckless display under Postecoglou; The best of the minimal attacking threats was Brennan Johnson’s fingertip pass from Timo Werner to the smothering Stefan Ortega. This almost counted as a shot and saved them from the most unseemly gaps. There was little convincing from the back and Pape Sarr’s midfield drive away in Senegal had nothing to offer. Perhaps it was asking too much of Maddison to bring the intensity and finesse Tottenham needed in a cameo display.
There was a view that if Spurs could find a way past City, the FA Cup could be on their way. Arsenal have already fallen, Chelsea or Villa will be eliminated and Liverpool may have heavier fish to fry. At their free-moving best, Postecoglou’s side should be manna from Cup-tie heaven. This time a weakened squad was, by their manager’s admission, very passive and rarely looked like taking control.
Maddison of course has a winner’s medal to his name at Leicester. It is somewhat surprising to remember that De Bruyne has only two wins. But it will be the Belgian who is prepared to increase his tally after proving that he is truly the man this fight is crying out for and no one else.