(Football news) Though Guglielmo Vicario felt he had been fouled from the corner, Nathan Ake’s late goal at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium saw the Citizens finally break their goalless streak and secure their spot in round five. Despite this, the match was devoid of any killer instinct the entire time.

James Maddison made his comeback to the Spurs bench after suffering a serious ankle injury in November, causing much astonishment to the home crowd. Pep Guardiola also pulled off an unexpected move by starting Oscar Bobb in the starting lineup for the Citizens.

The Norwegian starlet was rewarded for netting City’s dramatic late goal against Newcastle United in the Premier League, and he had the ball in the back of the Tottenham net within the opening five minutes, prodding home from a yard out after Vicario parried Phil Foden’s shot into his path.

However, the linesman’s offside flag was raised immediately, and following a VAR check lasting a good couple of minutes, the on-field decision was upheld; Bobb’s left boot had just strayed offside as Foden got his shot off.

The holders remained in the ascendancy in the 15 minutes that followed, but Spurs weathered the City storm and began to knock the ball about, albeit without any penetration to show for it.

That theme continued for both sides as the clock ticked down to half time, as promising attacking sequences ended with poor final balls or brave blocks, although neither Postecoglou nor Guardiola made any changes during the interval.

Within just three minutes of the restart, the Spurs goal was gaping for Julian Alvarez as Bobb’s cross bounced across to his teammate unchecked, but Micky van de Ven made a sensational sliding block to deny the Argentina international a certain goal.

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