There's a moment in The Godfather Part III when Al Pacino's frustrated Michael Corleone, trying to extricate himself from organised crime, turns to his family in the kitchen.
"Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in," he snarls.
It was a thought no doubt echoed by most Tottenham fans as the final whistle blew at the Etihad Stadium.
How could a team that had lost its past three Premier League matches in miserable fashion produce such a remarkable performance away against one of the world's best teams, a side that had won 14 of their previous 15 league games.
Spurs are something of a bogey team for Manchester City but often they're accused of snatching a result they did not deserve against Pep Guardiola's side.
Not this time. Antonio Conte's side completely deserved this victory.
They knew they would have little of the possession at the home of the runaway league leaders, but they were fiercely disciplined from start to finish while being lethal on the attack. In the end they had more shots on target than their previously free-scoring hosts.
To use another nineties movie moment, in Bad Boys, Will Smith's cop Mike Lowrey tells his normally reserved partner Martin Lawrence's Marcus Burnett, who surprises him with his driving ability during a car chase: "Now that's how you supposed to drive! From now on, that's how you drive!"
Conte will have been using words to that effect in the dressing room after the game - "From now on, that's how you play" - albeit with a voice so hoarse after his celebrations that he sounded more Pacino than Smith.
For his Tottenham team gave him everything. Even those who made mistakes atoned for them with some world class moments.
There's absolutely no reason why these players can't put in performances with such focus and desire every week. If you can do it against some of the best players in the Premier League, you can do it against anyone.
Conte told football.london after the game that it was difficult to pick out any individual player after such a wonderful team performance, but even he had to admit that Harry Kane was something special.
The striker is often overshadowed by Son Heung-min when it comes to Tottenham's games against City.
While the South Korean was once again in fine form at the Etihad, with two assists, Kane was City's Kryptonite this time.
All eyes were on him after City's failed attempt to sign the England captain last summer.
City maintain Spurs told them he was not for sale but ultimately they only offered £75m with add-ons for the previous season's Premier League Golden Boot and Playmaker award winner.
It was a feeble offer for one of the world's best strikers with three-and-a-half years left on his contract and that they never really pushed for his signature and attempted to test Spurs' resolve will have hurt Kane.
He took it out on them in the most brutal fashion on Saturday evening.
The ball looked stuck with Velcro to his feet, head or chest. He bullied the City defence, his movement pulled them all over the place and his passing and creativity would not have looked out of his place had it come from the boot of Kevin De Bruyne, a player Kane had stated he would love to play with.
His first-time left-footed pass on the turn into the path of Son was jaw-dropping just four minutes in and allowed the South Korean to sprint up the pitch and square for Dejan Kulusevski to slide home his first goal for Spurs in his first start for the club.
Other than one moment, Kane was clinical in front of goal.
Tottenham's second goal of the match came after the striker embarked on a lung-busting run from just inside City's half to steal in unmarked to divert Son's perfect cross into the top corner.
Kane's one off-key moment came when Son played him in again not long after but instead of lifting his shot over the advancing Ederson, he fired low and the keeper got his foot to it.
Spurs' number 10 then did shoot home clinically after Kulusevski's deflected shot bounced his way only for the Swede to be called offside after a VAR check.
Kane's fitness is vastly improved under Conte and that showed in the final minutes as he swept up the pitch and ran in front of his old Spurs team-mate Kyle Walker to head home Kulusevski's cross.
That goal brought wild celebrations from Conte, who first sprinted to Ryan Mason and hugged him before leaping over the dugout seats and grabbing out of favour defender Joe Rodon, who looked surprised but delighted with the dramatic winner all in one moment.
Saturday brought vintage Kane and while City have done well without a natural striker, his performance in their own backyard make a mockery of their lack of real intent to sign him last summer when they thought little of splashing out £100m to trigger Jack Grealish's release clause.
Kane has taken some time to warm up this season for Spurs after that summer drama yet still has 17 goals to his name from 34 appearances.
The Tottenham fans sang how he is one of their own throughout the game and he went over to acknowledge them at the final whistle.
The only worry for them and Conte will be that during his post-match interviews Kane was limping heavily, likely to be the after-effects of a painful back injury late in the game.
Spurs cannot afford to lose Kane for a single game and he will no doubt be patched up and pushed out at Turf Moor on Wednesday night.
It was not all just about Kane though on Saturday evening.
Son taunted City once again throughout with his movement and two assists and he would have had a penalty as Ederson clattered into him had Kulusevski not scored anyway from his unselfish pass.
Son and Kane took their place as joint record holders in the Premier League's history with their two latest goal combinations making it 36 in total, level with Chelsea's Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba.
Son said on Instagram after the game: "Yesssssss! What a game and what a team! Harry Kane, 36 goals together and more to come!"
Kulusevski, known as Deki by Conte and his team-mates, was also excellent and showed what an all-round talent he is at just 21-years-old.
He nutmegged Joao Cancelo for his early goal and his fitness late on to get forward and hit a perfect cross for Kane's winner showed that he is a Premier League-ready player, exactly what Conte had asked for.
He worked hard across the pitch, using his strength and quick-thinking to launch Spurs on various breaks. He was disciplined while being creative for a player so young.
"Today to speak about only one player is very difficult for me because every single player they made a fantastic performance," Conte told football.london after the game.
"For sure, Kulusevski played an amazing game. He's only 21 years old, but despite this, he has good experience, because when you play with Juventus you have to manage a lot of pressure in Italy. He’s a good signing for us. He's strong physically, good technically.
"It’s very difficult to speak about only one player. Sonny was fantastic today. Harry… I think to speak about Harry’s performance, what can I tell you about him? (Laughs) He was fantastic.
"But the two midfielders, the defensive line, the keeper, it was good. The people that came in from the bench. For sure when you win against Manchester City it means you played a perfect game."
Both central midfielders worked hard, throwing themselves into tackles and even if their passing radar was occasionally off, they made up for it with their battling and winning of free-kicks aplenty.
Bentancur continues to show some delightful touches under pressure and supported the play on a couple of key occasions.
He burst up the pitch to play a big part in the move for Kane's saved shot in the second half and then late on, it was the Uruguayan who struck the first time pass into the path of Kulusevski before he cut inside and set up the winner.
The wing-backs, Emerson Royal and Ryan Sessegnon - just 23 and 21-years-old respectively - were both tactically very disciplined and for the latter, who was involved in Spurs' second goal, it was a chance for redemption following his substitution after just 28 minutes the previous weekend.
The back three were magnificent against a City side that had scored 15 goals in their previous four matches.
It was only the second time Conte has been able to use Eric Dier and Cristian Romero together and, along with Ben Davies, they proved to be a titanic trio, standing firm in the way of their hosts.
Dier brought everything his head coach said the 28-year-old would following his return from his thigh injury, with leadership, organisation and a calming presence to the backline.
Romero put in a defensive performance out of the top drawer for long periods with his anticipation and strength.
His handball to gift City their second equaliser from the spot was born of an overeager tackle but the Argentinean made up for it with a crucial clearance underneath his own crossbar in the final moments. He still thanked Kane on Instagram after the game for scoring the winner that cancelled out Riyad Mahrez's penalty.
Davies deserves plenty of credit as well. He had a shaky moment for one of Wolves' goals last week but bounced back at the Etihad Stadium with a faultless performance for Spurs against the likely Premier League champions.
He made numerous interceptions and tackles, including one huge sliding block to deny Phil Foden inside the Spurs area.
The Welshman also contributed in an attacking sense, playing a clever, quick through ball to Kane which was perfect for the striker to set Son away first time for the opening goal.
Davies also hit a sublime crossfield ball to Kulusevski, who had just started his run a touch early, for Kane's ruled out 'goal'.
Behind the defence, Lloris made it mistakes in back-to-back games, as he spilled a low cross into the feet of Ilkay Gundogan to score for City.
However, on his 400th appearance for Spurs, the captain made up for it with a stunning full length save from an unsighted shot from the same player, tipping it away when he had no right to.
Conte finally got his first choice defence out on the pitch and other than two unfortunate moments gifting City their goals, they let very little get by them.
Now the challenge is to keep the back three fit and playing regularly together as a unit.
"We have to trust in the work we’re doing, have to believe in what we’re doing every day. I’m enjoying working with this group of players," Conte said after the victory.
"Every day, they show me great availability, the will and desire to improve. They will also to come into my idea of football.
"We want to give our best until the end of the season. My target is that at the end of the season to see every single one of my players improving. It means at the end of the season we have raised our level."
While the mind naturally wonders where Tottenham would be had they got better results in their two home defeats to Southampton and Wolves, Conte can use this performance as the platform to build his team upon.
It will be a huge confidence booster for the players and proof of what they can do when they focus and fight.
The Italian's tactics were perfect, his team selection spot on and, if any player doubted his methods, this game showed what he can do with them after a full week on the Hotspur Way training pitches.
For the Tottenham fans who made the long trip up to Manchester despite cancelled trains, they were rewarded with both second half goals scored right in front of them.
Sometimes the Spurs faithful may feel like their team don't deserve them but then, on magical nights like this, they pull them right back in.
