Manchester City goalkeeper Ederson could not hide his anger after being brought off against Tottenham following an injury scare. The Brazilian kicked a bottle and had to be consoled by City staff as he sulked on the substitutes’ bench after coming off in the second half away at Spurs. It came after a nasty coming-together with Cristian Romero left him down on the turf in a worrying incident.
Tottenham midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur was similarly furious after coming off for the home team earlier in the second half. But Ederson’s withdrawal came after a scary collision with Romero which left Pep Guardiola’s backroom staff furious.
He was sprawled on the floor motionless for a while before recovering to his feet. Romero was booked for his challenge, which saw him hip crash into the keeper’s head as he came to claim a Pedro Porro cross.
The stretcher was briefly brought out before being dismissed. Ederson momentarily played on but was brought off in the 69th minute and the City No.1 was not at all happy with the decision.
Despite Guardiola trying to calm the shot-stopper on the sidelines, he angrily kicked a bottle before storming to his seat where he slumped and sat with his head in his hands while being spoken to by club staff and team-mate Matheus Nunes.
Sky Sports cameras later showed the South American was visibly emotional and almost on the verge of tears.
Guardiola explained post-match: “Ederson has a kick in the eye, swollen, he could not see properly… The doctor came to me and said he could not see properly, and he has to be replaced.”
Ederson’s replacement Stefan Ortega was required to make smart stops from Dejan Kulusevski and Son Heung-min after coming on in what was a tense match of monumental importance.
City knew they needed to win at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium to have full control of the title race going into the final day of the season this weekend. But Spurs had chances to hurt them.
The reigning champions led 1-0 at the time of Ederson’s substitution thanks to an Erling Haaland tap-in from a Kevin De Bruyne low cross. And quickly after Son was denied by Ortega one-on-one, the Norwegian striker made it 2-0 from the penalty spot.
Haaland fired home from 12 yards in the 90th minute after Jeremy Doku had been felled by Porro in the penalty area. Victory puts City two points clear of Arsenal at the summit of the table with one match left to go.
They know three points in their final game will see them get over the line yet again.
City host West Ham at the Etihad on Sunday while Arsenal host Everton at the Emirates, both at 4pm. Treble-winners City are looking to win a fourth successive title which would see them make history.
No English side has ever won four straight league titles. It is unclear if Ederson will be able to play this weekend however. The keeper is likely to have to undergo concussion tests in order to be passed fit to face the Hammers.
City also have an FA Cup final to look forward to against neighbours Manchester United, in a repeat of last year’s final, at Wembley on Saturday 25 May. Ederson will be desperate to play in that too.
City’s 2-0 win at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium also means that Aston Villa are guaranteed a spot in next year’s Champions League. They pipped Spurs to fourth and Ange Postecoglou’s side could yet lose fifth spot to Newcastle if the Magpies beat Manchester United at Old Trafford on Wednesday night.
Newcastle would then need both to win at Brentford on the final day and Tottenham to lose away at Sheffield United. That would see both sides finish on 63 points but Eddie Howe’s outfit have a far superior goal difference.
