Tottenham Hotspur conceded back-to-back goals to Manchester City’s Elling Holland in the English Premier League (EPL) match at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, England, on Friday, losing 2-0. It was a must-win game to keep their Champions League hopes alive for next season, but they lost. It was the second consecutive season they missed out on the Champions League.
There were Tottenham home fans in the stadium cheering for City. Despite being Spurs fans, they didn’t want to see their “North London rivals” win the league more than they wanted their team to win the Champions League. Tottenham and Arsenal have a decades-long feud. A City defeat on this day would have put Arsenal one step closer to the league title.
Unusually, the Gunners were rooting for their rivals to win. “I’ll be Tottenham’s biggest fan (if they win against City),” Arsenal midfielder Kai Havertz said. Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta also cheered, saying, “I want Tottenham to win against City.” Paul Merson, who played for Arsenal in the 1980s and 1990s, said he would get a Tottenham tattoo if Spurs beat City.
Before the game, Arsenal were leading the table with 86 points, but Tottenham’s loss pushed City to 88 points.
That puts City one step closer to the title. Both Arsenal and City will play their final Premier League games of the season this weekend. If City wins at West Ham on Tuesday, 스포츠토토 they will clinch the title regardless of the outcome of the Arsenal game.
Tottenham fans chanted “Arsenal, are you watching” after City’s Holland opened the scoring in the sixth minute of the second half. Footage of an angry Tottenham manager, Enzi Postecoglou, arguing with fans went viral on social media. Conversely, Arsenal fans reacted on social media with comments such as “Heung-min missed a one-on-one on purpose” and “He’s not the kind of player to miss a chance like that.” These comments came after Son missed a one-on-one with the goalkeeper in the second half.
Tottenham manager Anzhi Postecoglou was clearly uncomfortable. “It’s not for me to dictate to the fans,” he said in his post-match press conference, “people are free to express their thoughts. But the reason we got the late wedge was because the crowd helped us,” he said sarcastically.