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Harry Kane dents Man City's title bid, Barca extends lead over Madrid
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Harry Kane of Tottenham Hotspur celebrates scoring a goal during their clash with Manchester City at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, England, February 5, 2023. /CFP
Harry Kane of Tottenham Hotspur celebrates scoring a goal during their clash with Manchester City at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, England, February 5, 2023. /CFP

Harry Kane of Tottenham Hotspur celebrates scoring a goal during their clash with Manchester City at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, England, February 5, 2023. /CFP

Manchester City's Premier League title defense suffered a major blow after Harry Kane's record-breaking goal gave Tottenham a 1-0 win over the champions on Sunday.

Pep Guardiola's side would have moved within two points of leaders Arsenal with a victory in north London, but Kane's first-half strike, which made him Tottenham's all-time leading scorer on 267 goals, left the Gunners firmly in control of the title race.

Second-placed City are five points behind Arsenal, who have a game in hand and host Guardiola's men on February 15.

That will be a must-win clash for City if they are to have any hope of overhauling Mikel Arteta's team, who had slipped up themselves on Saturday when struggling Everton snatched a shock 1-0 win against the Gunners.

Tottenham's plush new stadium has been a house of horrors for City since it opened in 2019. They have lost on all five of their visits and are yet to score a single goal there.

With Kevin De Bruyne left on the bench for the first hour and Phil Foden absent from the squad due to illness, City lacked the creative quality to supply Erling Haaland with the kind of chance that Kane buried.

Erling Haaland (L) of Manchester City battles for possession with Cristian Romero of Tottenham Hotspur during their clash at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, England, February 5, 2023. /CFP
Erling Haaland (L) of Manchester City battles for possession with Cristian Romero of Tottenham Hotspur during their clash at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, England, February 5, 2023. /CFP

Erling Haaland (L) of Manchester City battles for possession with Cristian Romero of Tottenham Hotspur during their clash at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, England, February 5, 2023. /CFP

In Spain, Barcelona stretched their La Liga lead over Real Madrid to a substantial eight points with a comfortable 3-0 win over Sevilla.

The Catalans, aiming to win their first Spanish title since 2019, punished second-placed Madrid for their 1-0 defeat by Real Mallorca earlier on, opening up a wide gap ahead of their rivals.

After a tight first half, Jordi Alba broke the deadlock before the hour mark, with further goals from Gavi and Raphinha helping wrap up the win.

Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez had criticized his team in recent weeks for not killing off games after taking the lead but they did not let him down at Camp Nou.

The victory was their 10th in their last 11 league games, while Barca are now unbeaten in 15 matches across all competitions. Barcelona have conceded just seven goals in La Liga this season, with this their 15th clean sheet.

Barcelonadefender Jordi Alba (L) celebrates with Robert Lewandowski after scoring his team's first goal during their clash with Sevilla at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona, Spain, February 5, 2023. /CFP
Barcelonadefender Jordi Alba (L) celebrates with Robert Lewandowski after scoring his team's first goal during their clash with Sevilla at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona, Spain, February 5, 2023. /CFP

Barcelonadefender Jordi Alba (L) celebrates with Robert Lewandowski after scoring his team's first goal during their clash with Sevilla at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona, Spain, February 5, 2023. /CFP

In Germany, a stunning solo goal from Bayern Munich teenager Jamal Musiala sealed a controversial 4-2 away win at Wolfsburg, sending the visitors back to the top of the table.

The win, Bayern's first league victory in 2023, was marred by a late VAR decision to chalk off a Wolfsburg goal, which would have made the score 4-3 with seven minutes plus stoppage time remaining. 

Wolfsburg manager Niko Kovac, who won the league and cup double with Bayern, said, "We were unlucky losers and Bayern were lucky winners." The win saw Bayern reclaim their one-point lead over second-placed Union Berlin.

Inter Milan's Lautaro Martinez celebrates at the end of their clash with AC Milan at San Siro stadium in Milan, Italy, February 5, 2023. /CFP
Inter Milan's Lautaro Martinez celebrates at the end of their clash with AC Milan at San Siro stadium in Milan, Italy, February 5, 2023. /CFP

Inter Milan's Lautaro Martinez celebrates at the end of their clash with AC Milan at San Siro stadium in Milan, Italy, February 5, 2023. /CFP

In Italy, Lautaro Martinez shot Inter Milan to a 1-0 derby triumph over crumbling champions AC Milan but his team stayed 13 points behind Serie A leaders Napoli who strolled to a 3-0 win at Spezia.

A third straight league defeat leaves Milan in sixth and in a downward spiral that threatens to completely ruin a season which less than a month ago looked to be going more or less according to plan.

Stefano Pioli's side have earned just five points from their six league matches since the World Cup and have also been knocked out of the Italian Cup and beaten by Inter in the Super Cup.

Milan have to take on Tottenham Hotspur in their first Champions League last-16 tie since 2014 in less than 10 days.

Source(s): AFP

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