Champions League: Tottenham Defeats Man City Without Kane

Son Heung-Min filled the void left by Harry Kane’s injury-enforced departure by giving Tottenham Hotspur a 1-0 win over Manchester City in the first leg of their Champions League quarterfinal game.

Tottenham’s victory was an unexpected twist to an enthralling encounter, especially after Kane injured his left ankle in a tackle on Fabian Delph early in the second half.

But City had only themselves to blame for failing to earn an advantage for the second leg in Manchester on April 17.

Having won the League Cup, reached the FA Cup final and kept the destiny of the Premier League title in their own hands, this was City’s next hurdle in the race for an unprecedented quadruple.

⚽ First @premierleague goalscorer at our new home.

⚽ First @ChampionsLeague goalscorer at our new home.#UCL ⚪️ #COYS pic.twitter.com/BinDytoUNV

— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) April 10, 2019

But City boss Pep Guardiola is adamant it is “almost impossible” to achieve a clean sweep of all four major trophies. He might be right on the evidence of a City display that lacked the cutting edge and intensity required to keep Tottenham at bay.

City’s first defeat since a January 29 setback at Newcastle is not fatal to their European ambitions, but they will have to improve on this tired effort to stop Tottenham reaching their first European semi-final since 1984.

This was City’s 52nd competitive match of a draining season and Guardiola made four changes from the team that laboured to a 1-0 win over Brighton in the FA Cup semi-final on Saturday.