Pep Guardiola was given a stark reminder of what Harry Kane might have brought to Manchester City but insisted that transfer saga belonged in the past after a shock 3-2 defeat to Tottenham.

City had taken 43 points from a possible 45 across their last 15 Premier League games, while Spurs were on a three-game losing skid heading into Saturday's game at the Etihad Stadium.

Yet a double from Kane, including a winner in the fifth minute of stoppage time, gave the visitors a famous win, completing an improbable double over last season's champions.

City lead the way in the English top flight again this year, but their lead over Liverpool is down to six points, and Jurgen Klopp's team have a game in hand.

Guardiola said City had been involved in a "good game", pointing to Tottenham's deep defending as making his side's task difficult.

He added praise for how Tottenham's front three of Kane, Son Heung-min and Dejan Kulusevski offered a threat to City's backline, adding on Sky Sports: "They are clinical, and the crosses we could not defend."

City wanted Kane during the last close-season, and the feeling was probably mutual, but the England captain remained at Tottenham and has been rejuvenated by Antonio Conte's mid-season arrival.

There is now a genuine title race, and Guardiola said: "I don't need a game today to know it. I knew it a month ago. There's many, many games to play. People are going to drop points."

When asked about Kane in a later news conference, Guardiola said signing the striker "never was an option" for City, despite admitting there was interest, and urged people to "forget" that saga.

He should be so lucky.

"It's not necessary for him to show today the goals he scored to show his quality with the ball. All the UK knows it," Guardiola said, signalling Kane's display came as no surprise.

Spurs boss Conte was impressed his team put their recent rocky form behind them to produce such an eye-catching result.

New recruit Kulusevski scored the opener after slick play involving Kane and Son, and Kane restored Tottenham's lead after an Ilkay Gundogan leveller. Riyad Mahrez looked to have pinched a point with a late penalty, only for Kane to head his second goal of the game.

Conte told Sky Sports: "It was a good win for us and a win we need to try to give us more confidence. it wasn't simple to play against Manchester City after three losses in a row, but this is a process. We are working very hard to try to improve every aspect.

"This type of game has to give us confidence to trust the work we are doing. It was important there was a reaction [to the defeats]."

Conte described Kane as "highly important", adding: "He had chances to score and I think in every game we created the chances to score, and today our strikers did very well and Harry was very good to keep the ball.

"I think the first goal was great because this goal is about our job, our work that we are doing every day."

But Conte warned: "One win is not enough. Don't forget we are coming after three losses, but for sure to win against Manchester City can give you confidence and to trust in what you are doing.

"We can improve a lot. This is a group of players that is fantastic, this group is one of the best groups of players I've worked with in my career. We have a lot of work to do but we are not scared to work."

Ever since Manchester City gave up on signing Harry Kane, it had looked like a decision where only the reigning Premier League champions came out better off.

They have become relatively comfortable at the top of the league, easing through the Champions League with the minimum of fuss and scoring plenty of goals along the way.

Meanwhile, Kane and Tottenham have had an under-par campaign, with the England striker managing just five Premier League goals in 21 games, until Saturday.

City were made to face every single doubt they would have had about missing out on Kane as Spurs put a dent in their title aspirations with a 3-2 win at the Etihad Stadium.

Despite largely dominating the game, City looked like a team without a natural goalscorer, and without a focal point.

For all of their play around the Spurs box, they rarely looked like carving out a clear chance against a resilient backline.

Meanwhile, Kane was biding his time, before making a significant difference on the rare occasions his team had the ball.

His pass for Son Heung-min in the build-up to the fourth-minute opener was sublime. With his weaker foot he hit a first-time pass into the path of his partner in crime, who found Dejan Kulusevski to finish.

Kane was dropping deep and spraying passes, showing the sort of ability that drew Pep Guardiola to him in the first place. The 28-year-old is a world-class striker but has developed his game to be more involved in setting up attacks.

In all honesty, that would not be all that necessary at City such is their array of creative talent. Had Kane done the same in a sky blue shirt on this occasion, he would merely have been doing as others were, playing balls into the box for Spurs to tidy up.

However, in the second half, Kane went back to what he knows and became everything City were missing.

His run and calm first-time finish from Son's ball to restore Tottenham's lead was vintage Kane, and his movement to work an opening to nearly score again minutes later, only to be denied by an excellent Ederson save, was a hint of more to come.

It almost felt like a direct comment from him to put his first shot of the day in the back of the net after seeing City be so wasteful in front of goal.

Another deadly finish appeared to have made it 3-1, only for VAR to rule it out for offside, but Kane would be the man to have the final word after Riyad Mahrez's late penalty seemed to save City. With a deft header, Kane sensationally won the game for the team he seemingly hoped to swap for City last year.

Unusually lacklustre from City

After the departure of Sergio Aguero at the end of last season, the narrative seemed to be that City absolutely needed a top-class striker or else they'd struggle.

That has very much not been the case after missing out on Kane. They have still won 20 of 26 league games this season, and only Liverpool (64) have scored more goals than their 63.

They have also scored 23 goals in seven Champions League games, including five in the week against Sporting from just six shots on target.

Guardiola's men have divided up their scoring among their attackers this season, with Mahrez (18), Raheem Sterling (13), Bernardo Silva (10) and Phil Foden (nine) all contributing.

The kind of ruthlessness they showed in Lisbon was not on show here, though. Despite having the vast majority of possession (71.5 per cent) and 21 shots to Tottenham's six, they had fewer shots on target (four to five).

It is a rare occasion that we see City fall behind, as they did here, three times.

In the 53 games in which they have trailed at any point in the Premier League under Pep, they have been beaten on 30 occasions (W12 D11), and they have now lost 21 of 44 games in which they have conceded first in the league in that time.

It would be silly for City and Guardiola to panic after this game, but they have to be wary of this becoming a template to beat them.

Then again, most opposition teams won't have Kane playing for them.

Conte's new boys come to the fore

While Guardiola will be scratching his head as to how his team lost, Antonio Conte will probably still be running round his living room cheering into the small hours of the morning.

This was a proper Conte performance, staying organised and respecting the threat of the opponent, while showing guts in possession, even late in the game when they looked to be holding on.

The Italian stirred the pot this week with comments about the January transfer window, lamenting that Spurs let go of four players he viewed as "important" while signing only two new ones, who would be perhaps more for the future than the present.

No one told Kulusevski that it seemed as the Swedish winger flourished as part of the visiting attack, grabbing a goal and an assist.

He was also unlucky to be judged offside for Kane's chalked-off goal in the second half.

Rodrigo Bentancur, who, like Kulusevski, joined from Juventus in January, had a quieter game in midfield, but still managed to make three tackles (only Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg made more for Spurs – four) and regained possession five times.

Perhaps the manager's words were meant for both chairman Daniel Levy and for the players, with Kulusevski showing he can be one for now as well as the future.

This game was all about one man though: Kane.

He received deserved words of praise from two other great England strikers, with Gary Lineker tweeting to say: "Superb from Kane. Not just the goal but his overall display. Brilliant."

Alan Shearer was similarly effusive, also saying on Twitter: "A centre forward masterclass from Kane."

If Tottenham are to finish in the top four, they will need more performances like this from their talisman.

Should Kane return to his best on a regular basis, we could come full circle at the end of the campaign with City reigniting their interest in him.

Especially so, if it turns out that the day he came back to haunt them triggered a significant tide turn in the Premier League title race.

Harry Kane hailed Tottenham's "special" performance after netting a last-gasp winner in their thrilling 3-2 win over Manchester City, before speaking in glowing terms about his partnership with fellow forward Son Heung-min.

After Dejan Kulusevski's opening goal was cancelled out by Ikay Gundogan's leveller, Kane re-established his side's advantage, which was again wiped out by Riyad Mahrez's 92nd-minute penalty.

But the drama didn't end there, and the England captain proved to be the match-winner with a 95th-minute header, the latest winning goal that Man City have conceded in the Premier League since Manchester United's Michael Owen downed them after 95 minutes and 27 seconds in September 2009.

Kane, who was linked strongly with a move to the Etihad last summer, was full of praise for his team-mates after keeping Spurs within touching distance of the top four.

"It was a crazy game", he told Sky Sports.

"We worked so hard for so long. To concede the penalty was so heartbreaking, but credit to the boys for creating another chance at the end, and thankfully I was able to put it away. 

"That's what the Premier League is all about. It was a great one for the neutrals and our fans. We'll go home happy today. 

"We had to find a way of getting our season back on track. To get the result we did was really, really special."

With Son the provider for the first of Kane's two goals, the duo have now combined directly for 36 Premier League goals, matching the record set by Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard as the competition's deadliest partnership of all-time, and Kane was keen to praise his strike partner after the win.

"We connect really well and have a great understanding off the pitch. 

"I can't wait to watch it back in the video room tomorrow.”

Meanwhile, Son has now been involved in 10 goals in 15 Premier League appearances against Man City, recording seven goals and three assists, and was keen to repay his captain's compliments.

"He's scored so many goals", Son said of Kane, speaking to Sky Sports. 

"I was really sad at the start of the season when he didn't score goals and people were talking, but he was working hard for the team. 

"He is an unbelievable player and an unbelievable guy. Working alongside him is a big honour."

Son also assisted Kulusevski's opener, and his tally of five Premier League assists makes him the London club's most creative presence this season.

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta heaped praise on young England stars Emile Smith Rowe and Bukayo Saka after they fired the Gunners to a 2-1 win over Brentford.

Smith Rowe and Saka struck in the second half to down a resolute Bees team, with Smith Rowe taking his tally to nine Premier League goals this season, a tally bettered only by Raheem Sterling (10) among English players in the competition this term.

Saka, meanwhile, has now registered 11 Premier League goal involvements this campaign (seven goals and four assists), the most of any player under the age of 21 and a tally only bettered by Jarrod Bowen (16), Mason Mount (13), and Trent Alexander-Arnold (12) among English players.

Christian Norgaard grabbed a late consolation for Brentford.

Speaking in the aftermath, Arteta lauded his match-winning youngsters, and saluted a "convincing" Gunners performance.

"They are players that have been raised in our system, and I'm really pleased that we have these players to come and take responsibility," Arteta said.

"They managed to win the game for us, which is really impressive at that age. I think we played really well [before the first goal], and we created some great chances in the first half without scoring the goal.

"But in the second half we were really convincing, scored the goal, and then it was a matter of scoring the second to kill the game. It’s a shame that we conceded a goal, but overall, I think we should be happy with the result and the performance."

Harry Kane showed Manchester City what they missed out on with a sensational double as Tottenham stunned the Premier League leaders 3-2 in a frantic finale on Saturday. 

England captain Kane was heavily linked with a move to City in the close season and sat out Spurs' season-opening win over Pep Guardiola's side before eventually staying put. 

The Tottenham talisman played a role in Dejan Kulusevski opening his Spurs account this time, and then Kane put the visitors back in front after Ilkay Gundogan's equaliser. 

Riyad Mahrez's stoppage-time penalty appeared to have salvaged a draw for City, but Kane headed home in the fifth added minute to leave the champions' advantage over Liverpool at the summit at six points, having played a game more.

Harry Kane and Son Heung-min have joined a pair of Chelsea greats at the top of the list of the deadliest goalscoring combinations in Premier League history.

Kane finished off a cross from Son to give Tottenham a 2-1 lead during the second half of Saturday's game at leaders Manchester City.

No two players have combined for more goals in the Premier League era, with Kane and Son matching Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba, who set each other up for 36 goals.

The rest of the top five combinations includes Thierry Henry and Robert Pires (29), David Silva and Sergio Aguero (29) and Teddy Sheringham and Darren Anderton (27).

Kane's goal was his sixth in the Premier League during this campaign and came against the team that were keen to sign him in the close season.

It was his third goal in 12 league appearances against City. For Son, the assist was his fifth this season, more than any other Tottenham player in the English Premier League.

Kane followed up the goal that put Spurs in front for the second time in the game by firing in again in the 73rd minute, but this time his strike was disallowed for offside.

Jurgen Klopp says it is vital for Liverpool to keep Thiago Alcantara fit after he came off the bench to pull the strings in Liverpool's 3-1 Premier League win over Norwich City.

Milot Rashica's deflected strike gave the relegation-threatened Canaries a shock lead in the 48th minute at Anfield on Saturday, but the Reds stormed back to extend their winning run to eight games.

Sadio Mane equalised with an acrobatic volley and Mohamed Salah put Liverpool in front three minutes later with his 150th goal for the club.

Luis Díaz opened his Reds account nine minutes from time as they reduced Manchester City's lead at the top of the table to six points ahead of the champions' clash with Tottenham, also taking their tally of goals for the season to the 100 mark.

Klopp was without the injured Roberto Firmino and made seven changes to his team following the Champions League victory over Inter in midweek.

Thiago was brought on along with Divock Origi just before Mane equalised as Klopp altered Liverpool's shape and the Spain midfielder was outstanding in the middle of the park.

Klopp told Match of the Day: "Thiago with his passing, really fresh, really relaxed, full of confidence, that helped as well. He is a good player, we just have to make sure we can keep him fit.

"Diogo [Jota] was not available and we don't know how long it will take, Bobby Firmino has a muscle problem and is out for a while, so we have to keep the boys fit and create a spirit like the boys did today in the game."

Norwich gave a great account of themselves as they defended for their lives and posed a threat on the break.

Klopp praised the Canaries and was pleased with the way his side rallied to stretch their unbeaten run to 11 matches.

"It had its moments, the longer the game went on the more I could enjoy it, obviously. A week ago when we played at Burnley, they give you a proper fight and over the years you learn to deal with these situations, again today," the German said.

"Norwich have a very different style but played a proper game, defended deep, had their counter-attacks, made it really tricky for us.

"We had moments and then the game can look completely different, then a deflected ball can be pretty decisive, but these boys just don't give up, we could help from the bench, bringing really good players on and that was like three days ago the game changer.

"We played really good football and scored wonderful goals. The coaching team, we changed the system as well, go for 4-4-2 and that is necessary in a moment like this that you throw all the knowledge you have together - it gave them a proper challenge to deal with because all of a sudden we were a threat in all moments."

Thomas Tuchel admitted Chelsea must improve after looking "drained and exhausted" in their 1-0 win at Crystal Palace, but praised his team's defensive solidity following Hakim Ziyech's late winner.

Ziyech's 89th-minute strike meant the Moroccan has scored in three successive league games for the first time since doing so in the Eredivisie with Ajax in September 2019, and kept the London club within seven points of second-placed Liverpool in the Premier League table.

Chelsea were far from their best throughout the contest, however, managing just nine attempts on goal in the match, while striker Romelu Lukaku had seven touches of the ball, the lowest figure since Opta's Premier League records began in 2003-04.

Speaking after the match, Tuchel conceded that Chelsea were not at their best at Selhurst Park, before hitting out at their congested fixture list.

"Every team will have games like this, especially between December, January and February, where the conditions can create adversity", said the former Borussia Dortmund and Paris Saint-Germain boss. 

"If we had another draw, maybe we'd talk about this game longer, but when you win it you have the chance to move on and forget it.

"We won't wake up tomorrow wondering what we could do better.

"We look a bit drained and exhausted. Everyone is giving their very best, but we are struggling a little bit, so it's important to win and keep going."

Romelu Lukaku had one of the quietest games in Premier League history as Chelsea overcame Crystal Palace 1-0 on Saturday. 

A last-gasp goal from Hakim Ziyech stole all three points for Chelsea, who looked to be heading for a disappointing draw at Selhurst Park following an ineffectual display from Lukaku. 

The Belgium international had just seven touches across the entire match. That is the fewest in a single top-flight game for a player to feature for at least 90 minutes since Opta started collecting the data in 2003-04. 

Lukaku only had two touches in the first half – one of which was from the kick-off – and completed just four of his six passes. 

He did not register a single shot and was caught offside twice, with one of those leading to Ziyech having a goal disallowed by VAR. 

Asked about Lukaku's lack of touches, head coach Thomas Tuchel said: "It says he was not involved and could not make a point. I'm not sure it says so much about us in general." 

Lukaku scored in the semi-final and final of Chelsea's Club World Cup success last week but has found the back of the net just twice in his past 14 Premier League outings.

Emile Smith Rowe and Bukayo Saka were on target as Arsenal made it back-to-back Premier League wins with a 2-1 success over Brentford.

Smith Rowe took his tally for the season to 10 in all competitions with a fine individual effort in the 48th minute at Emirates Stadium.

And Saka secured the points for Mikel Arteta’s side when he drilled home with 11 minutes remaining, before Christian Norgaard's consolation in the dying moments.

While the Gunners remain sixth in the table, they closed the gap on fourth-placed Manchester United to a single point and still have two games in hand.

Arsenal, unbeaten in their previous 32 home Premier League games against promoted sides, dominated from the start, with Saka's deflected strike testing David Raya before Alexandre Lacazette rounded off a neat move, only to be denied an opener by the offside flag.

Martin Odegaard had a shot blocked and Ben White volleyed at Raya as the hosts enjoyed 80.1 per cent of the possession during the first half, but a goal eluded them.

However, the breakthrough did arrive three minutes after the restart. Lacazette found Smith Rowe, who cut inside from the left before sweeping a low shot into the far corner.

Raya got down well to keep out Saka from distance as Arsenal went in search of a second, while the Spaniard also produced smart reflexes to deny Odegaard following Pontus Jansson's loose header.

But Raya was powerless as the Gunners put the result beyond doubt – Thomas Partey feeding Saka, who arrowed a powerful shot in off the far post.

Brentford pulled one back through Norgaard deep into stoppage time; the Denmark international becoming only the second player for a promoted club to score home and away against Arsenal, but it was always likely to prove a consolation.

Hakim Ziyech was on target once again in the Premier League with a last-gasp volley to clinch a 1-0 victory for Chelsea over Crystal Palace.

By steering Marcos Alonso's deep cross past substitute Jack Butland in the 89th minute, Ziyech scored for the third straight league game and secured an important three points.

The Blues looked to be heading back down to earth with a bump a week on from winning the Club World Cup for the first time in their history, with Antonio Rudiger and N'Golo Kante thwarted in the first half. 

Palace came out fighting in the second period but were eventually undone by a composed finish from Ziyech, with Chelsea establishing an eight-point advantage over top-four chasing West Ham and Arsenal. 

Mohamed Salah scored his 150th goal for Liverpool and Luis Díaz opened his account as the Reds came from behind to beat Norwich City 3-1 at Anfield.

Jurgen Klopp's side were left stunned when Milot Rashica's deflected strike put Premier League strugglers Norwich in front in the 48th minute.

But two goals in the space of three minutes spared the second-placed side’s blushes, with Sadio Mane equalising through an acrobatic volley before Alisson's brilliant assist set the prolific Salah up to reach yet another milestone.

Recent signing Diaz sealed an eighth successive win for Merseyside club, which moved them six points behind leaders Manchester City ahead of their clash with Tottenham later on Saturday

Rashica had the ball in the back of the Liverpool net early on, but strayed offside before Kostas Tsimikas missed a good chance at the other end, failing to hit the target sliding in to meet Salah's cross.

Teemu Pukki wasted a glorious chance to put the Canaries in front when he dragged a left-foot shot wide from inside the penalty area with only Alisson to beat after Angus Gunn palmed away Virgil van Dijk's downward header.

Liverpool dictated the play and Salah had a header cleared off the line by the alert Mathias Normann as Norwich defended tenaciously in a goalless first half, which also saw Van Dijk have a goal disallowed as the linesman’s flag was up.

It was Dean Smith's side who sensationally drew first blood just after the break, when Rashica's drive from just outside the area struck Joel Matip's leg and flashed past a wrong-footed Alisson.

Klopp introduced Thiago Alcantara and Divock Origi just after the hour-mark and Mane equalised soon after with a brilliant overhead kick from close range after Tsimikas nodded headed across goal.

Salah then raced clear after controlling Alisson's accurate long ball with a great touch and turned sharply to outfox Gunn before calmly slotting home with his right foot.

Diaz put the icing on the cake nine minutes from time, dinking over Gunn with his left foot after Jordan Henderson picked him out with a sublime pass.

Mohamed Salah reached another Liverpool milestone on Saturday, netting his 150th goal for the club across all competitions.

Liverpool's talisman achieved the feat in the 67th minute of the Premier League clash with Norwich City at Anfield.

Salah raced clear after controlling Alisson's brilliant long ball with a great touch and turned sharply to fox goalkeeper Angus Gunn before calmly slotting home with his right foot. His goal gave Liverpool a 2-1 lead against the Canaries.

The 29-year-old Egypt international hit the 150 mark in his 233rd Liverpool appearance, making him the second-fastest player to do so for the team, after Roger Hunt (226 games).

Salah has reached the milestone quicker than Ian Rush (249), Robbie Fowler (261), Michael Owen (280) and Kenny Dalglish (390).

The Premier League's leading scorer this season, Salah took his tally to 17 for the campaign – and 25 across all competitions.

Mikel Arteta has backed Arsenal's mentality when under pressure, but acknowledged that his side have brought difficulties upon themselves at points under his watch.

Arsenal welcome Brentford to Emirates Stadium on Saturday as they look to close in on the top four.

They will do so without Gabriel Martinelli however, with the 20-year-old's red card against Wolves the latest instance of an Arsenal player's dismissal under Arteta.

Speaking ahead of the Brentford clash, Arteta conceded that the way he chooses to play runs these risks, but added that he feels his team can weather the adversity that might result from the indiscipline.

"We have to face whatever challenges that we have in front of us," he said in a news conference. "Someday we have provoked those challenges ourselves, sometimes it has been someone external.

"Whatever is in front of us, we have to have that mentality and that attitude to say, 'Okay, let's face it' and 'let's go for it' and we can overcome it. This is how [Martinelli] wanted to play."

Arteta further added that his side should relish a bunker mentality, drawing comparison to the teams of Jose Mourinho and Alex Ferguson, and how they thrived under the spotlight.

"One hundred per cent, because I want the team to feel that they have the tools and they have the right mindset to face anything that is in front of us," he added.

"That's the only way that you are able to win."

Yet another red card for his side at Molineux sparked further speculation from the media over Arteta's methods, but the former Manchester City assistant added that he tends to encourage his side to block out the noise.

"We focus on what we can control [and] what we have to do," he stated. "Our focus doesn't change because we can't control what is out there."

While Arsenal do not lead the way for bookings in the Premier League, their red card haul over the past two years is noticeable for its sheer volume next to their rivals.

They have picked up a dozen dismissals since Boxing Day 2019, when Arteta oversaw his first game. That is five more than the next two sides, in Brighton and Hove Albion and Southampton (both seven), while their average total of fouls per red card sits at 65.4, a full 30 offences more than the second-ranked Bournemouth, at 98.5.

Arsenal sit sixth heading into Saturday's game, four points behind fourth-placed Manchester United but with three matches in hand.

The Gunners are unbeaten in their last 32 Premier League home games against promoted sides (W27 D5), since a 1-0 loss against Newcastle United in November 2010. They have only failed to score in one of those 32 matches, a goalless draw with Middlesbrough in October 2016.

Paul Pogba's future with Manchester United remains up in the air.

Pogba is out of contract at the end of this season and deferred contract talks with United.

The midfielder is reportedly open to offers with Pogba's agent Mino Raiola shopping him around.

TOP STORY – NEWCASTLE ENTER POGBA PURSUIT

Newcastle United have entered the race to sign Manchester United's Pogba, reports Fichajes.

The Magpies are hoping to land the 28-year-old France international on a free transfer, although it is unclear if he would entertain the move to a club that is currently battling relegation, albeit Newcastle will hope that will be different next season.

Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid and Juventus have also been linked with Pogba, who could also opt to stay at Old Trafford.

ROUND-UP

- Tottenham's Harry Kane will not decide on his future until the end of the season, after trying to join Manchester City last year, reports The Standard. Kane is currently not interested in discussing a contract extension with Spurs.

- Madrid have tabled a final offer for Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland claims Sport. Haaland has been pursued by several top clubs including PSG, Barcelona, United, Chelsea and Manchester City.

- Marca claims that Barcelona will swoop for Chelsea defender Andreas Christensen should he become a free agent this upcoming off-season.

- The Daily Star claims that Donny van de Beek will push for a permanent move away from Manchester United to Everton if his loan spell goes well.

- Milan are interested in Tottenham winger Steven Bergwijn, reports Calciomercato.