Timo on target as we topple City

A superb spirited performance saw us inflict Manchester City’s first defeat of the season in all competitions to reach the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup on Wednesday evening.

Timo Werner struck a fantastic early goal to give us the perfect start which was enhanced further thanks to an equally-impressive finish from Pape Matar Sarr, before the visitors pulled one back on the stroke of half-time through Matheus Nunes.

That could have led to a nervy second half but we continued to create the better chances with Werner, Brennan Johnson and Dejan Kulusevski all spurning good opportunities. City’s best chance of an equaliser came in the closing minutes, Nico O’Reilly’s effort cleared off the line by Yves Bissouma as we held out to record another famous win over City at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Looking for a response after Sunday’s disappointing defeat at Crystal Palace, we were quickly out of the blocks and went ahead in the sixth minute through a lovely move from front to back. Archie Gray’s ball down the right was flicked on by Johnson to release Kuluisevski and he played an early low ball across the box which Werner ran onto and drilled past Stefan Ortega.

But our promising start was tempered by an early injury to Micky van de Ven, who limped off in the 13th minute moments after a tackle on Savinho and was replaced by Destiny Udogie. However we shrugged off that setback and settled into the game again, adding a second with 28 minutes on the clock courtesy of a clever set-piece routine. Kulusevski took a short corner to Werner and received the ball back, shaped to cross but then laid a pass out to Sarr who curled magnificently into the bottom corner from 20 yards.

City always looked dangerous on the attack and went close in the 38th minute when Nunes burst down the left but Phil Foden was unable to make contact with his low ball into the six-yard box before the England midfielder sliced wide with a volley and hit a 20-yard free-kick just over the bar. The pressure had been building and the visitors got their goal four minutes into first-half stoppage time, Savinho getting to the byline down the right and his cross was turned in by Nunes at the far post.

Having made a fast start to the first half, we did so again after the restart and it needed a good low save from Ortega to keep out Johnson’s right-footed drive three minutes in before Dominic Solanke’s quick pass released Werner and he was through on goal only to hit a left-footed effort just wide of the far post. The chances kept coming too, Kulusevski the next to bear down on goal but another fine stop from Ortega denied him.

At the other end, City substitute Jacob Wright was just inches wide with a curling effort from the edge of the box as the game entered the final quarter before another glorious chance fell our way, Josko Gvardiol’s throw in into the City box missed by John Stones and Richarlison was onto to the ball in a flash but couldn’t beat Ortega with his shot. We had a lucky escape just two minutes from time, a City corner into the box falling to O’Reilly eight yards out and his shot was heading in but Bissouma was in the right place to clear off the line before Gvardiol headed over from the subsequent corner. The visitors piled everyone forwards in the dying seconds and had half-chances, Wright curling wide and O’Reilly heading over, but we dug in and stood firm to book our place in the last eight.

Match data

Goals: Spurs – Werner 6, Sarr 28; Manchester City – Nunes 45+4.

Yellow cards: Spurs – Sarr, Bissouma, Gray.

Referee: Robert Jones.

Venue: Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Weather: Clear skies, light winds, 13 degrees.

Attendance: 60,797.