Man City player ratings vs Tottenham as Stefan Ortega incredible and Erling Haaland good

Stefan Ortega of Manchester City saves from Son Heung-min of Tottenham
Stefan Ortega of Manchester City saves from Son Heung-min of Tottenham -Credit:Marc Atkins/Getty Images


Erling Haaland scored twice as Manchester City beat Tottenham 1-0 in the Premier League to maintain control of the title race.

Pep Guardiola's side just need to beat West Ham at home on the final day to secure a fourth consecutive Premier League title, and they will breathe an almighty sigh of relief to leave North London with all three points. They were indebted in particular to Stefan Ortega, who made a number of terrific stops after replacing Ederson in the second half with the score at 1-0.

Haaland then made the game safe with a late penalty won by Jeremy Doku. Here are how the players rated:

Ederson: Wasn't happy to come off but took a serious blow from Romero and couldn't be risked. Did well before that. 7

Walker: Got into some promising areas high up the field but unusually didn't look to shoot. Kept busy on Son Watch at the other end. 7

Dias: A shaky performance, making uncharacteristic errors that put City in more danger than they needed to be in. 5

Akanji: Solid enough, aware of the danger in behind and making sure City weren't caught out by the speedy Spurs attack - until he nearly blew it. 6

Gvardiol: Defensively improved on the weekend, even if he couldn't match his two goals. Needed a cool head and he had it. 7

Rodri: Wasn't at his best but his good is still better than most people's great, keeping City ticking along for his 73rd game unbeaten. 7

Kovacic: Guilty of losing possession too often in the first half, although never stopped battling and improved in the second half. 6

De Bruyne: Wasn't on it for much of the night, trying to find a Hollywood ball for Haaland that he never managed. Then he set up Haaland for the goal. 7

Silva: Ran and ran and ran, then ran some more. Pivotal in the goal and an important out for City all evening. 8

Foden: Didn't pull off anywhere near what he wanted to, but was always involved looking to take responsibility. His commitment helped earn the goal. 8

Haaland: A frustrated figure in the first half but came to life in the second and scored two goals to win the game. 8

Substitutes

Ortega (for Ederson, 69) Did brilliantly to save from Kulusevki early on and then a match-winner from Son. 9

Doku (for De Bruyne, 69) Changed the game by offering something different when he came on. 8

Alvarez (for Haaland, 90)

Not used: Stones, Gomez, Lewis, Ake, Nunes, Bobb, Grealish