Man City hopes of quadruple dashed by Spurs in frantic quarter final

VAR saved Tottenham from a Champions League exit as a 93rd minute Raheem Sterling goal was chalked off, giving Spurs their first ever Champions League semi final, where they will meet Real Madrid and Juventus’ conquerers Ajax.

Mauricio Pochettino and Tottenham took advantage of the away goal rule as they knocked out Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City, ending their hopes of an unprecedented quadruple.

A Fernando Llorente goal meant Spurs lost 4-3 on the night, but progressed with a 4-4 aggregate score.

A frantic opening 12 minutes saw four goals as neither side could contain the other. Whilst some will point to the attacking prowess of both sides, the managers will be furious at the lack of focus and attention to detail when defending.

Raheem Sterling put Manchester City into the lead with just four minutes on the clock, cutting in from the left hand side to curl a sumptuous finish into the bottom corner, using the body of Toby Alderwiereld to shield the ball from Hugo Lloris’ eyeline. Mauricio Pochettino will be disappointed at Kieran Tripper who seemingly watched Sterling cut infield onto his stronger foot and presenting the opportunity to the in form forward.

But three minutes later, Spurs were level. Son capitalising on a scuffed clearance from Aymeric Laporte and he squeezed the ball under the body of Ederson who may feel he could have done better. But the South Korean international made no mistake with his second just minutes later. A fantastic move from Spurs presented Son with the chance to curl the ball around Ederson from the corner of the box, leaving the Brazilian shot stopper little chance.

The frantic football continued as Bernardo Silva raced down the right just a minute later and squeezed the ball past Lloris via a Danny Rose deflection, whose attempted block left much to be desired.

The fans were left to catch their breath for 10 minutes before Sterling fired Manchester City back into the lead. A textbook Kevin De Bruyne cross flashed across the six yard box were Sterling managed to find himself unmarked as he tapped into the net. Hugo Lloris will be furious at himself as he seemingly tripped over his own feet when changing direction, Manchester City led 3-2 on the night, with the aggregate score at 3-3.

Neither side could control the game for a prolonged period, but Sterling and Son continued to pose a threat to the oppositions defences on the counter attack. Moussa Sissoko had to depart injured on 41 minutes with an injury after a heavy clash with De Bruyne earlier in the game, Fernando Llorente given the chance to punish Manchester City as Pochettino had no senior midfield substitutes available to him.

Both sides managed to go into the dressing rooms at half time having suffered no further damage, but three quarters of the way through the tie and Spurs led due to the away goals rule.

Manchester City began the second half on top, Lloris making multiple saves from Sterling and then Bernardo Silva after good work down the left from David Silva.

Lloris continued his fine stretch of saves with a fantastic one handed stop to prevent a De Bruyne rocket that seemed destined for the back of the net.

The home side put themselves in the driving seat halfway through the half when De Bruyne charged down the pitch on a powerful run before slipping Sergio Aguero in. The Argentine made no mistake as he lashed the ball past Lloris at the front post, giving the French keeper little chance.

Guardiola introduced Fernandinho to shore up the midfield as City looked to control the game and put daylight between the two sides. But it was Fernando Llorente who proved to be the star as he bundled in a goal with his hip to put Spurs ahead due the away goals rule.

VAR checked the goal for any suspicions of handball, the referee taking to the monitor himself but awarded the goal as Llorente’s arm was deemed not to be in an unnatural position.

Injury time approached and Spurs looked to be on their way to a semi final, but more drama awaited. Raheem Sterling thought he had completed his hat trick and put Manchester City into the next round, sparking jubilant scenes amongst the clubs staff and fans. But VAR ruled the goal out as Aguero was offside in the build up. Spurs managed to negotiate the final 90 seconds without conceding again and the final whistle blew sparking emotional celebrations from Pochettino and his staff.

Manchester City players fell dejected to their knees as the hope of a famous quadruple vanished, they will now put all their focus on the Premier League. Their next opponents? Tottenham Hotspur.

Pochettino, meanwhile, can look forward to a semi final against Ajax but knows the Amsterdam club will prove to be a test as stern as this one.