Tottenham record-breaker Harry Kane on target to defeat champions Manchester City

H arry Kane’s record-breaking goal fired 10-man  Tottenham  to a 1-0 win over  Manchester City  to further dent the champions’ titles hopes....

Harry Kane’s record-breaking goal fired 10-man Tottenham to a 1-0 win over Manchester City to further dent the champions’ titles hopes.

Kane slotted home after 15 minutes to break the deadlock with his 267th goal and move past Jimmy Greaves as Spurs’ all-time leading marksman, having gone level with the late forward against Fulham two weeks ago.

It proved enough to keep up Tottenham’s excellent record against City, who could have gone within two points of leaders Arsenal following the leaders' defeat at Everton on Saturday.

Fifth-placed Spurs instead claimed a third victory from their last four matches against Pep Guardiola’s side despite Cristian Romero’s late red card to aid the recovery of absent manager Antonio Conte, who is still in Italy after having his gallbladder removed on Wednesday.

“It's hard to put into words and I'm so glad it came in a win,” Kane told Sky Sports.

“We worked so hard to keep a clean sheet. It was so special to do it in front of the fans. There has been so much talk about it in the last couple of weeks and to do it in such a big game is even more special.

“It is a great feeling. When I started playing regularly it wasn't even in my imagination to score 200 Premier League goals and I have a few more years left so hopefully there are more to come.

“[Jimmy Greaves] is a complete hero, one of the best strikers to play the game so to be in that conversation is special. And to overtake him is a huge moment for me.”

Despite Conte recovering from surgery, he was involved in team selection and deadline-day signing Pedro Porro was only on the bench for Spurs with City surprisingly naming Kevin De Bruyne among the substitutes.

Related video: Harry Kane breaks Tottenham goalscoring record (Dailymotion)

The visitors had seen title rivals Arsenal drop points 24 hours earlier and signalled their intentions with Riyad Mahrez and Julian Alvarez having shots blocked in the opening exchanges.

City were dominating possession but they soon felt the familiar feeling of trailing to Tottenham and it proved a record-breaking goal.

Eric Dier urged his teammates to press higher and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg stole in ahead of Rico Lewis outside the away penalty area before he passed into the path of Kane, who scuffed an effort beyond Ederson and into the corner.

It moved Kane past Greaves and saw jubilant celebrations both on and off the pitch with the screens inside the stadium acknowledging his achievement before the forward waved to his family in the West Stand.

Bookings followed with Rodrigo Bentancur and Romero cautioned in quick succession, the latter for clattering into peripheral figure Erling Haaland.

Tottenham assistant Cristian Stellini was attempting to match the animated presence of the absence Conte on the touchline but saw his side enjoy a slice of luck before the break.