Spurs end Man City’s unbeaten home run with stunning 4-0 win

In a dramatic and unexpected turn of events, Manchester City suffered their fifth consecutive defeat as Tottenham delivered a crushing 4-0 blow at the Etihad, ending the English champions’ 52-game unbeaten home streak on Saturday.

James Maddison was the star of the first half, scoring twice in a span of seven minutes, before Pedro Porro added to City’s misery by scoring against his former club.

Brennan Johnson then completed the rout with a fourth goal late in the game.

The result marked City’s first loss at home from open play since the eve of the 2022 World Cup, leaving them five points behind Premier League leaders Liverpool, who are set to play their game in hand against bottom-of-the-table Southampton on Sunday.

Tottenham’s emphatic win came as a much-needed boost for manager Ange Postecoglou, who has faced mounting pressure this season. The victory moved Spurs into the top six of the Premier League.

For City, the defeat further exposes the void left by Rodri’s absence. The Spanish midfielder, who had been a key figure in their past successes, is sidelined for the remainder of the season with knee ligament damage.

Prior to the match, Rodri was celebrated by the home crowd as his Ballon d’Or triumph was prominently displayed.

Despite starting the match with some attacking intent, City struggled to break down Tottenham’s defense, with Guglielmo Vicario denying Erling Haaland on two occasions.

But the momentum of the match completely swung on Tottenham’s first serious attack after 13 minutes.

Dejan Kulusevski’s teasing cross picked out Maddison who applied a cool first-time finish.

Maddison had found himself frozen out of Postecoglou’s starting line-up in recent weeks and was keen to prove a point to his manager.

Son Heung-min’s inventive pass freed the England international inside the box and he dinked the ball over the advancing Ederson to double Spurs’ lead.

Inconsistency has been the scourge of Tottenham’s season so far.

A 2-1 home defeat to Ipswich before the international break saw Postecoglou’s men slip to 10th in the table.

But they have now twice won comprehensively in Manchester after a 3-0 win over United at Old Trafford.

Dominic Solanke was denied by a fine Ederson save with the chance to make it 3-0 before half-time.

Spurs, though, were not to be denied seven minutes into the second period.

The excellent Kulusevski crossed for Solanke and he patiently laid the ball back for Porro to blast home from close range.

Haaland clipped the bar from an almost impossible angle as City laboured to find a response.

Instead, they were hit with one final sucker punch as Timo Werner eased past Kyle Walker and crossed for Johnson to tap home at the far post.

The one glimmer of hope for City may be the return of Kevin De Bruyne after a two-month injury absence as a late substitute.

However, Guardiola has to find solutions fast if his side’s title defence is to be maintained into the new year.

A daunting trip to face Liverpool at Anfield is next up in the Premier League, where City have not won in front of a crowd since 2003.