I saw Man City pre-match chat between two players that inspired Tottenham win

Manchester City got back to winning ways with a 1-0 win against Tottenham that showcased their qualities across two very different halves of football.

City were outstanding in the first half and deserved more for their efforts than Erling Haaland's early goal, which came at the end of a superb free flowing move that began with an excellent turn from January arrival Omar Marmoush.

But that dominance began to ebb away in the second half and Pep Guardiola's side had to survive an onslaught as the game wore on, but a diligent defensive effort soaked up the Spurs pressure and ensured City closed the gap on both Nottingham Forest and Arsenal ahead of them.

As the City players went through their warm-ups, Ruben Dias and Erling Haaland stopped for a couple of minutes to have a chat around half an hour before kick-off.

We can only guess the content of their discussion, but they were the two players who could have made the biggest difference on Sunday. City were second best in both boxes, and Dias could have strengthened their defensive quality, and Haaland would have undoubtedly added more threat in the Liverpool penalty area.

Perhaps it was as simple as that. You keep them out, and I'll put them away. Both stuck to their end of the bargain.

During his time at the Etihad, we've become used to Guardiola picking out players for quick coaching sessions at the end of games, but on Wednesday, he offered Matheus Nunes some instruction on the way off the pitch at half-time. It came just after Nunes had decided against playing the ball into the box in first-half stoppage time, which also angered Erling Haaland.

Guardiola waited on the touchline for an animated chat with Nunes, but he ended it by draping his arms over his shoulders and