Tottenham 1 Man City 0: Spurs do HUGE favor to bitter rivals Arsenal as record-breaker Kane dashed City’s title hopes

IT IS a fun old game, as Tottenham’s second-highest goalscorer in history often remarked.

Eighteen months ago, Harry Kane asked for a transfer to Manchester City, but here he overtook the great Jimmy Greaves as the most prolific onion-bag filler this famous old club has ever seen.

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And it was funny that the England captain would score his 267th Tottenham goal against Pep Guardiola’s City.

And funny if you’re not a Spurs fan that his goal could play a role in handing the Premier title to Arsenal.

Still, this was a tremendous accomplishment for Kane. These historic records don’t fall with much regularity in an age where there are so few veteran players.

Kane is a throwback. Even his failed escape attempt was charmingly naïve.

“How are we going to force this step then?”

“Let’s do an interview with Gary Neville while we play a round of golf, that should do it.”

It didn’t work out, of course, and City didn’t force the issue after an initial offer was turned down because they were confident of landing Erling Haaland 12 months later anyway.

Kane’s goal was also his 200th in the Premier League, he is only eight behind Wayne Rooney in second place on this list.

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Although for those who remember football existed before the Premier League, Greaves’ record 357 goals in the English Premier League seems out of sight even for 29-year-old Kane.

The most extraordinary thing about Kane is that he is far from being a pure goalscorer.

His tally of assists and ability to drop deep and influence the game were increasingly as impressive as his goals.

Less than a minute after Kane side-footed past Ederson to put Spurs ahead in the 15th minute and the big screens read “Congratulations Harry – 267” – Kane stormed off Bernardo Silva for the ball to win, and earned another mighty roar.

There is still some debate as to whether Greaves’ record should have been 268 instead of 266 as he has scored twice in a charity shield and no one ever knew if the game was a competitive or friendly match.

Kane, of course, has never played in the annual game between the champions and FA Cup holders because Spurs have not won either competition since he was born.

He’ll certainly surpass that slightly higher number, even if this should be his last season in a lillywhite shirt.

Kane wanted to join City to win silverware. Instead, he’s had to settle for individual accolades so far – Golden Boots at the World Cup and Premier League, and conquering the Greaves record.

That result – which ended with ten men following Cristian Romero’s late dismissal – boosted Tottenham’s chances of Champions League football next season while City’s hoodoo persisted at the new White Hart Lane.

Remarkably, Guardiola’s men have lost five out of five here without scoring a single goal.

Arsenal’s defeat at Everton on Saturday means City remain just five points adrift of leaders with a trip to the Emirates on Wednesday.

But Guardiola’s notoriously hyperactive mind seems particularly restless right now. His “pep roulette” routine was in full swing when Kevin De Bruyne was benched for the opening hour – and it cost City.

Antonio Conte wasn’t here to witness Kane’s historic moment. The Spurs boss remains in Italy recovering from surgery to remove his gallbladder.

But Tottenham didn’t seem to miss their frenetic cheerleading at the touchline. Led by Conte’s assistant Cristian Stellini, they were absolute

Kane’s moment came when Rodri produced an unusually sloppy pass on the edge of his own box, aimed at full-back Rico Lewis.

Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg lunged to rob the kid and thread through a pass that Kane shot into the far corner, sparking cheers.

Kane would likely never rest on his laurels, and his challenge to Bernardo immediately proved a great deal.

Haaland’s most notable moment came when he was sidestepped by Cristian Romero, Tottenham’s glorious old-school Argentina centre-back.

City dominated possession, Jack Grealish turned a shot wide and Riyad Mahrez hit the bar with a smash.

But City only really caught on when Guardiola decided he could be an idea to bring in their best player, De Bruyne, on the hour.

Soon the Belgian was feeding Grealish for a shot that was deflected by Eric Dier and then by Alvarez, whose rising shot went just wide.

On the other end, however, Kane threatened a second. He slipped in at the back post but couldn’t quite find a low center from Ivan Perisic, then pulled a shot wide of the target before plowing through two defenders and was thwarted by an onrushing Ederson who blocked with his body .

Romero knocked down Grealish for his second yellow card in the 87th minute but Spurs held on.

Kane may never win a trophy with this club but his place in the pantheon of Tottenham greats is always secure.

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