Modric adds to Spurs misery
Edin Dzeko stole the headlines as he netted four goals to help City go joint top of the table, but all the talk after the game surrounded the future of Modric.
The north London club have been rocked by the news the Croatian superstar wants to join Chelsea and are believed to have already turned down two bids from the west London club during the summer.
Tottenham thought the long running episode had finally come to an end during the week, but fresh reports yesterday morning suggested Chelsea are now coming back with a £40 million offer and Modric has been so affected that he went into Redknapp’s office just two hours before the game and said he didn’t want to play.
The Tottenham manager was not prepared to change his team line-up at such a late stage and took a bold decision in playing him.
The move backfired as Modric produced one of his worst performances for the club before being substituted and you now have to question if he has played his last game for the club.
Redknapp said: “His head has been turned and it’s probably been turned again last night. We all know what goes on in the game, anyone who thinks that he’s not being kept informed with what’s going on and told what to do is dreaming. We all know what happens in the game.
“He was okay yesterday morning to play and then obviously something, who knows what, goes on.
“Today, you pick up the paper and suddenly the headline is they [Chelsea] are making a £40m offer, I mean who gives them that? They must be getting that from somewhere surely.’’
Dzeko’s display proved what a difference a few months can make. At the end of last season most Manchester City supporters were questioning his signing for £27m. It is a different story now as he cannot stop scoring goals and is becoming the new hero in the blue half of Manchester, having netted eight times in his last five games.
Mancini said: “I was always sure Dzeko would score a lot of goals for us, he always scored in Wolfsburg. We played a really good game against what is a fantastic team.”
It was also a debut to remember for Samir Nasri as he set up three goals and showed why he is going to a major star for the club this season.
City opened the scoring on 34 minutes when Nasri crossed in for Dzeko, who got in front of Younes Kaboul and slid the ball past Brad Friedel from close range.
The away side doubled their lead on 40 minutes and it was all about that man Nasri once again.
The former Arsenal midfielder made it a day to remember on his return to north London as he broke clear down the left following a Spurs corner and crossed for Dzeko, who was travelling away from goal but was still able to beat Kaboul and direct a brilliant header beyond the stranded Friedel.
It was game over when Dzeko scored his third on 54 minutes.
Yaya Toure got to the byline and crossed low for Dzeko, who made no mistake from close range.
This was turning out to be a rout and City blew Tottenham away with their fourth goal on the hour mark.
Nasri turned provider once again as he laid the ball into the path of Aguero and he showed all his predatory instincts when he beat Michael Dawson before firing past Friedel.
Tottenham pulled a consolation goal back on 68 minutes when Rafael van der Vaart’s corner picked out Kaboul, who powered home a close-range header.
But it was that man Dzeko who stole all the headlines with his fourth goal of the game in injury-time when he fired an unstoppable shot into the roof of the net.
TOTTENHAM: Friedel 6; Corluka 6, Kaboul 6, Dawson 6, Assou-Ekotto 5; Lennon 5 (Defoe 52, 6), Kranjcar 5 (Huddlestone 45, 6), Modric 4 (Livermore 65, 6), Bale 7; Van der Vaart 6; Crouch 6
MANCHESTER CITY: Hart 8; Zabaleta 7 (Richards 63, 7), Kompany 8, Lescott 8, Clichy 8; Silva 8, Toure 8, Barry 8, Nasri 9; Aguero 8 (Savic 74, 6), Dzeko 9
Referee: P Dowd (Stoke).
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