Porro made to wait
Following the addition of Pedro Porro from Sporting CP, Tottenham fans were desperate to see the new signing make his Spurs bow against Man City. Excelling in his right wing-back role for Sporting CP and demonstrating why he is rated so highly in two Champions League games against the Lilywhites, Cristian Stellini and Antonio Conte opted to name the new signing on the substitutes' bench rather than throw him in from the off.
That meant Emerson Royal was handed his third start in a row in the Premier League. A decision that was questioned by many home fans as they believed Porro should have been given the nod, the Brazilian has played well of late and kept his place in the side on merit.
It perhaps wasn't that much of a shock that Porro, who had been feeling a bit under the weather during the week, was made to wait for his full debut as 12 months ago Rodrigo Bentancur and Dejan Kulusevski were named on the bench against Brighton & Hove Albion in the FA Cup days after their move from Juventus. Unfortunately those waiting for Porro to get his first Tottenham minutes will have to wait until next Saturday away at Leicester City with Stellini electing against bringing him on with Emerson outstanding at right wing-back and Spurs doing so well defensively.
READ MORE: Tottenham player ratings vs Man City: Kane hits record goal with Emerson and Hojbjerg superb
Lucas gatecrashes the new signings
Porro wasn't the only new Tottenham signing named in the squad at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for the first time. Fresh from his debut goal away at Preston North End in the FA Cup last weekend, Arnaut Danjuma took his place on the bench as Stellini and Conte went with their preferred front three.
Danjuma and Porro were introduced to the crowd ahead of the game and both received a brilliant ovation from the home faithful. Keen to get in on the act, Lucas Moura, who was warming up on the pitch despite missing out on the squad, joined the duo next to the touchline and also started to applaud those inside Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
The moment went down well with Fraser Forster as the goalkeeper gave his teammate a slap on the back when leaving the pitch to go back in the changing rooms.
A moment of history and Hojbjerg impact
Drawing level with Jimmy Greaves' club-record 266 Tottenham goals in their last Premier League outing against Fulham, Tottenham supporters witnessed history in Sunday's showdown against Man City. Fifteen minutes were on the clock when Kane scored his 267th Tottenham goal to become the club's record goalscorer.
It was Kane at his calm and composed best as he collected Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg's pass to shoot low beyond Ederson, with Tottenham Hotspur Stadium erupting as soon as the ball hit the back of the net. While Kane will of course deservedly get all the plaudits for creating history, Hojbjerg should also come in for plenty of praise after putting Rico Lewis under intense pressure, dispossessing him and then feeding Kane.
The goal was rather similar to Dejan Kulusevski's at the Etihad Stadium just over two weeks ago, with Rodrigo Bentancur on that occasion winning the ball off Rodri in practically the same position just outside the box. That wasn't the only impact Hojbjerg had on proceedings as he was superb from the first minute to the last.
Emerson excels and wins Grealish battle
It was quite the battle at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with a number of crunching tackles going in from both sides. Cristian Romero, as ever, picked up his customary yellow card after such a late tackle on Erling Haaland when attempting to win the ball, before then receiving a second caution in the closing stages.
Emerson and Jack Grealish also had quite a battle going on down Spurs' right flank. Facing a big test with the tricky Man City man a real handful for his opponents, the Brazilian coped extremely well on the whole and frustrated his opponent throughout.
There were a few occasions when both fouled each other, which in the end resulted in the pair having an off-the-ball discussion when Ben Davies was down on the ground receiving treatment. The chat had come about a minute after Emerson had gone to ground following a challenge from Grealish.
Moments after that talk, the Spurs right wing-back elected to go to ground early to try and dispossess his man on the edge of the area but got it completely wrong. Thankfully the resulting free-kick didn't come to anything, though.
Emerson, who once again delivered another strong showing against Man City with an excellent defensive display, then produced a sublime tackle on Grealish with 12 minutes to go as the England ace had raced into the area. It was some battle between the pair, with Emerson well and truly coming out on top in what was arguably his best ever game in a Tottenham shirt.
Hojbjerg frustrates City
Down to 10 men following Romero's dismissal and trying to see out the game, Hojbjerg went to ground to try and eat up another minute or two. It was a moment that didn't go down well at all with the visitors as they fumed about the referee's decision to stop play.
It all came about after Kevin De Bruyne had seen a free-kick hit the Tottenham wall, which included Kane and Hojbjerg. The Dane's reaction did seem to indicate that he had been struck in the face by the ball, yet the replay appeared to indicate that it had actually hit Kane and maybe then glanced off the midfielder.
Either way, Hojbjerg saw it as an opportunity to go to ground and it resulted in a pause in play, much to the frustration of all those of a City persuasion. Maybe something people frown upon, it helped Tottenham get over the line with City upping the pressure in their quest for an equaliser.
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