Manchester City goalkeeper Edson Moraise was upset when he was substituted on 69 minutes, but substitute Stefan Ortega lived up to manager Pep Guardiola's expectations, making three key saves, including a one-on-one shot from Son Heung-min; As a result, the 'Blue Moon' defeated Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 and returned to the top of the table with 88 points, and only needed to beat West Ham United at home to create a fourth consecutive Premier League victory. Guardiola said before the game that Manchester City's success is not based on money, and the performances of the two goalkeepers in this game are the best commentary on this statement.
In the previous four seasons, Manchester City had been defeated by Tottenham Hotspur in the league, and this time they have been unable to deal with the opponent's centerless striker. Tottenham's two strikers, Son Heung-min and Brennan Johnson, split the left and right flanks, with Pape Sarr pressing in the front when pressing up front, and several midfielders also waiting for opportunities to burst into the box, with Uruguay international Rodrigo Bentancur being the most threatening, with a powerful shot from the edge of the box only saved by Ederson.
Perhaps the pressure of the championship is troubled, several Manchester City players have passed mistakes from time to time, and the main player De Bruyne is obviously not in the best condition, and the pass success rate is only 61%; However, the Belgian midfielder has three pounds. When the game was in a stalemate, De Bruyne burst into the right with a beautiful move and then crossed for Haaland to open the gap for Manchester City in the 51st minute.
Tottenham stepped up their attack from behind, and on 63 minutes centre-back Cristian Romero met a cross but crashed into Ederson, who fell to the ground injured; Although Ederson later returned to the battlefield, Guardiola replaced Stefan Ault for insurance reasons. This move made Ederson very dissatisfied, and even ignored Guardiola's reassurance, and once kicked the glove box on the sidelines to vent his anger.
Fortunately, Stefan Ortega showed his worthiness and made two close saves from substitute Dejan Kulusevski early on the pitch; In the 86th minute, Manuel Akanji was stolen by Son Heung-min at the back, who dribbled the ball alone, and Pep Guardiola on the sidelines also fell to the ground when he saw this scene, but Stefan Ortega calmly attacked and blocked Son Heung-min's close shot with his foot. City then counter-attacked, Jérémy Doku dribbled into the box to win a penalty, and Haaland, who was quiet throughout the game, slotted home to give City a 2-0 victory.
After winning the game, "Blue Moon" returned to the top of the table with 88 points from 37 games, and beat Arsenal by 2 points; In the next game, all you need to do is beat West Ham United at home, regardless of the result of the "Arsenal" home game against Everton, which is enough to win the title for the first time in the history of the Premier League.
While City still have one game to go, the game, especially the performances of the two goalkeepers, confirmed Pep Guardiola's pre-match statement that City's success is not based solely on money. Ederson's behaviour may have gone a little too far, but it was also motivated by a desire to win, and for a team that was only crowned the "Treble" last season, Guardiola has been able to maintain the determination to win for many years, which is not something that can be easily done, and it is certainly not something that money can buy.
Stefan Ortega's performance in this game is representative of the overall quality of Manchester City, even the substitute goalkeeper has such a level. The 31-year-old Argentine goalkeeper, who joined as a free agent in 2022, has been called on on a number of occasions in Ederson's absence, but has continued to perform well, coming off the bench this season to face 13 shots and making 11 saves, an 85 per cent save rate, and his rescue of Son Heung-min is as meaningful as Damian Martinez's close-range shot from Muani in the World Cup final.
"Speaking of one-on-one, he's one of the best goalkeepers I've ever seen in my life. He's really reliable and it was the right decision from our goalkeeper coach to bring him here. Guardiola said after the game: "Stefan Ortega saved us, otherwise Arsenal were champions. This is the reality, how tense the situation is. ”
The quality of Manchester City and, of course, Pep Guardiola himself. Guardiola's decision to add Stefan Ault in place of Ederson was a wise decision based on the results; Ederson may be unfazed on the surface, but former Liverpool goalkeeper Loris Karius was knocked out of place in the 2017/18 Champions League final when he was knocked on by Sergio Ramos. Another clever decision by Guardiola was to switch in the high-speed, break-through Doku while Tottenham were attacking aggressively, and it was the Belgian fast-winger who won the winning penalty.
There is still a week left in the Premier League this season, and it is still unknown who the champion will be, but with Manchester City's courage at the end of the season, if there is no accident, winning the trophy at home will be the most likely ending.