Tottenham rout Manchester City to leave Pep Guardiola reeling

“Sacked in the morning” was the ecstatic taunt from Tottenham fans aimed at Pep Guardiola when Pedro Porro’s third was rammed in under a classic Mancunian downpour that had abated by the end of Manchester City’s fifth consecutive defeat.

The right-back prospered as Ange Postecoglu’s men did all evening: by ransacking the champions who, despite Guardiola’s defiance that he is up for arresting the slide, were clueless, as illustrated by Brennan Johnson’s added-time fourth, when, for a countless time, City fell to the quick-break.

You have to go back to 2006 for the last time City suffered five reverses in a row. That dire run ended at a sixth and do not bet against Guardiola’s iteration matching this – Feyenoord are here next on Tuesday – as his famed tactical brain is drawing a blank.

Before kick-off, Rodri’s Ballon d’Or triumph was honoured, the Spaniard presented in front of a huge neon sign that spelled his name in white bulbs. When he was injured against Arsenal here in September, his manager vowed to solve the key No 6’s absence. At the moment Guardiola is failing.

City had been careless in their losing sequence, lacking the usual cold ruthlessness that cuffs aside many foes, and they were again in a dire opening half. Three of the reverses were 2-1, the other 4-1, so of their total of 41 goals in 17 games in all competitions – 22 in 11 league outings before this game – only four had come in the run of defeats.

This showed how the attack had dipped, while being breached eight times told the defence’s story. To try to remedy the latter, in City’s first home match in a month, Guardiola drafted in John Stones and Manuel Akanji from the loss at Brighton last time out, with Bernardo Silva coming into midfield, for Matheus Nunes, who was a substitute alongside the also-dropped Jahmai Simpson-Pusey, Mateo Kovacic was absent through injury.

But inside 13 minutes Spurs raided the reshuffled City pack. Dejan Kulesevski, after mugging the dawdling Josko Gvardiol along the right, skipped infield and dropped the ball perfectly for James Maddison, whose run closed with a volley past the helpless Ederson.

What followed from Gvardiol and for City was just as bad. This time the left-back’s loose pass was collected by Maddison, who found Son. The No 10 curved around the back of his captain to take a return for a one-two as sweet as the dink over the diving Ederson.

Gvardiol scrunched his face in despair and Guardiola discarded his jacket.

Before and after the goals, Erling Haaland’s normal unerring aim was off, the No 9 either missing the target completely or crashing the ball where Guglielmo Vicario or Ben Davies’s legs could repel it.

City, as per recent form, could not grip midfield and so throttle the visitor. Instead, Tottenham were a white wave flowing through them at will as when the unmarked Dominic Solanke tingled Ederson’s fingertips from mid-range, as Son had earlier done from an angle on the left.

Pep Guardiola stands helpless on the touchline. Photograph: Lee Smith/Action Images/Reuters

Spurs’ 4-2-1-3 posed City’s narrow (and rare) 4-3-3 questions they struggled to answer, Guardiola’s middle trident of Rico Lewis, Ilkay Gündogan and Silva his solution to Kovacic and Rodri being absent.

During a team pow-wow on 40 minutes while Vicario received treatment, Guardiola was a whirl of thigh slaps and semaphored instructions, but Son was soon in again and only his indecision saved City.

Spurs were good value for their interval lead and Guardiola needed to conjure some magic to revive his troops.

Nathan Aké jogged on for Stones for the second half and Guardiola swapped Silva and Savinho to the right and still he scratched his head as Savinho ceded possession. Next, the 53-year-old appeared lost when the rampant Spurs registered a third. City, again, broke down deep in the opponent half and from here they were ran through, as Kulesevski passed to Son down the left who returned to the Swede.

His sliced ball to Solanke had the No 9 in behind on the opposite wing, he teed up Pedro Porro, and the defender who made zero mistake.

The rain, falling all day, became a deluge that soaked the devastated Guardiola. City’s response was to probe and press. Haaland skimmed the bar on swivelling, and Gvardiol’s shot was blocked and a later volley skied, and you wondered about Kevin De Bruyne’s fitness as despite being a substitute he was not yet called for.

Once more the counter nearly pierced City, only Ederson’s reflexes palming away Kulesvski’s effort. Guardiola, on 74 minutes, sent for De Bruyne and Jack Grealish, who superseded Lewis and Savinho.

But despite rallying, City remained toothless, and Spurs, comprehensively, deserved victory