<p>Manchester City came back from a two-goal deficit to defeat <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/teams/tottenham-tv-schedule/">Spurs</a> on Thursday. The hosts completed the comeback thanks to four second half goals, two by Riyad Mahrez. Tottenham entered the halftime break with a lead, but eventually fell 4-2 on the night.</p>



<p>Although <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/news/the-history-of-manchester-united-vs-manchester-city-gary-james-interview-video-20130406-CMS-52551.html">City</a> dominated the early stages, they could not muster much of a threat to the Spurs goal. However, Erling Haaland had two great chances to find the back of the net in the last five minutes of the opening half. The superstar striker first saw a shot well saved by Huge Lloris, then missed an open net with a header just moments later.</p>



<h5>Spurs strike twice at the edge of halftime</h5>



<p>Dejan Kulusevski opened the scoring for Spurs only minutes from the Haaland miss. City shot themselves in the foot after a terrible pass from goalkeeper Ederson to Rodri. The Spanish midfielder could only get a piece of the ball, which eventually fell to Kulusevski’s feet. The Swede passed the ball by Ederson and into the net. </p>



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<p>Spurs weren’t done scoring in the first half just yet. Emerson Royal doubled the visitor’s lead just two minutes later. The defender headed in a rebound from a Harry Kane shot directly at Ederson. Kane’s work to keep the ball in play with a fantastic slide tackle on Rodri essentially created the goal.</p>



<h2>City storm back against Spurs to close gap in table</h2>



<p>City, however, came out flying in the second half. The hosts responded with a goal just six minutes after the break. Chaos ensued inside the Spurs box after Ilkay Gundogan and Jack Grealish attempted shots from close range. Julian Alvarez pounced on the loose ball and slotted it home.</p>



<p><a href="https://twitter.com/NBCSportsSoccer/status/1616185925213556764" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Haaland then leveled the scoreline</a> almost exactly two minutes later. The Norwegian latched on to a Mahrez cross right in front of Lloris. Haaland wouldn’t miss this time. The Premier League leading scorer now has an astounding <a href="https://www.premierleague.com/stats/top/players/goals" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">22 top flight goals</a> in just 18 games.</p>



<p>Mahrez completed the incredible comeback with a goal in the 64th minute. It was City’s third goal in 12 minutes during the second half. The Algerian skipped passed the Spurs defense and put in a perfectly placed shot to beat Lloris at the near post. The typically quiet Etihad Stadium erupted when the ball in the back of the net.</p>



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<div class="ck-twitter"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Have a look at all angles of Riyad Mahrez’s go-ahead goal for Manchester City!<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MyPLMorning?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MyPLMorning</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MCITOT?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MCITOT</a><br>📺 <a href="https://twitter.com/peacock?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Peacock</a> <a href="https://t.co/ifXmy3KorJ">pic.twitter.com/ifXmy3KorJ</a></p>— NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBCSportsSoccer/status/1616190775527706624?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 19, 2023</a></blockquote></div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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<p>The City winger capped off the incredible night with another goal in the 90th minute of the match. Mahrez picked Clement Lenglet’s pocket and ran free towards goal. The African then dinked the ball over a rushing Lloris to ensure the hosts won the game.</p>



<p>City’s victory takes the reigning champions just five points behind <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/premier-league-tv-schedule/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Premier League</a> leaders <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/teams/arsenal-tv-schedule/">Arsenal</a>. The two clubs still have to face each other twice in the league before the campaign is completed.</p>



<p><em>PHOTO: IMAGO / PA Images</em></p>


Mahrez stars as City manage incredible Spurs comeback

Manchester City completed an incredible comeback to beat Spurs 4-2 at home, overturning a two-goal halftime deficit.

<p>It seemed like it was only a few weeks ago when Julian Alvarez was a starry-eyed youngster basking in the bright lights of the Argentine Primera Division. </p>



<p>With his previous club <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/news/river-plate-travels-to-us-to-play-in-three-friendlies-20221210-WST-411797.html">River Plate</a>, he looked like the greatest player to ever grace a soccer pitch and still had room for improvement. </p>



<p>Avid fans of River Plate knew Alvarez would be a major player.</p>



<p>In his breakout season in 2021, he became the league-leading goalscorer, tied-sixth for assists, and carried his side to their 37th-ever league title. </p>



<p>All of South America knew he could make it big as well. His proficient performances in the <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/where-to-watch-copa-libertadores-on-us-tv/">Copa Libertadores</a> put him on numerous scouts’ radars and earned him worldwide recognition. </p>



<p>And look at him now. Alvarez has come from dominating Argentina in 2021 to signing with Manchester City and leading the <em>Albiceleste </em>into a World Cup final. </p>



<p>His arduous ascent to the peak of soccer can be chronicled in some of his legendary performances in both Buenos Aires and Manchester.</p>



<h5>An up-and-coming Argentine ace</h5>



<p>Julian Alvarez’s majestic arrival to the top of the soccer world was coming, and River Plate fans knew it when he laced up his boots for the club’s senior team at the tender age of 18.</p>



<p>It was under the bright lights of the Estadio Mãs Monumental that he scored his made his first appearances and scored his first professional goals.</p>



<p>His breakout season would come in 2021. The pacy winger marked his arrival to the mainstream in <strong>a <a href="https://historyofsoccer.info/superclasico">Superclasico</a> against Boca Juniors</strong>. He opened the scoring in front of a packed, hostile stadium with a well-hit strike in the middle of the first half. </p>



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<p>He doubled River Plate’s lead with his seventh goal of the season, a well-hit tap-in near the end of the first half. He singlehandedly led River Plate to a win against arguably their fiercest competition, helping them take a slim lead in the 14th matchday.</p>



<p>Alvarez’s River Plate ended up winning the league, with <em>El Aranita</em> winning top scorer awards. He went on to win the prestigious award of South American Player of the Year and was named to the South American Team of the Year as well. He ended up signing to Manchester City in January amid interest from AC Milan, West Ham, and more top sides.</p>



<p>It not only earned him plaudits from European scouts, but the attention of Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni. He ended up playing and eventually starting a couple of games for <em>La Albiceleste</em>, including <strong>a 1-1 draw with Ecuador</strong>.</p>



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<p>The game was not important, as both Ecuador and Argentina had secured qualification to the World Cup and were facing a weaker side. But for Alvarez, it meant a lot. </p>



<p>Indeed, he scored his first goal for Argentina in his first start. His fleet-footed finish to send his attempt past a horde of defenders put Argentina ahead, and although Enner Valencia’s injury-time winner restored parity, the goal would be the first in a long list of goals for Argentina.</p>



<h5>Pure domination</h5>



<p>When discussing Alvarez’s dominance, it’s hard to leave out <strong>his six-goal game(!!)</strong> against a hapless Alianza Lima side in the Copa Libertadores. </p>



<p>His performance feels somewhat like a lucid dream looking back on it. But, Alvarez, as usual, made the impossible a reality when he dominated the reigning Peruvian champions.</p>



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<p>Alvarez started off early, weaving through a porous Alianza defense to knock in the first goal of the game in the fifteenth minute. </p>



<p>He returned just three minutes later with another goal, finishing off a cross with a fleet-footed finish. But, he was not done yet. The City striker got his long-awaited hat-trick in the 41st minute, beating the keeper with one of his signature long shots.</p>



<p>With the game all but lost for Alianza when they went down by 4 with 35 minutes remaining, Alianza were stunned to see that Alvarez was still pressing and hustling for the ball. x</p>



<p>He scored an easy tap-in off a goalkeeping blunder in the 54th and chipped the keeper in the 57th for his fifth goal in the match. Alvarez rubbed salt in Alianza’s bloody wound with a great dribbling move to evade two defenders and get his sixth goal of the match. Julian Alvarez ended the game with two match-balls and a 8-1 win, emerging as the bane of every Alianza fan’s existence.</p>



<p>After Alvarez finally moved to Manchester, it did take him a while to adjust to the new scenery. He was behind players like Erling Haaland, Phil Foden, and Jack Grealish on the attacking depth chart. But it did not stop him from excelling. Take his <strong>Champions League masterclass against Sevilla</strong>.</p>



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<p>Sure, the game was meaningless; Manchester City had already secured first place in their group; but Alvarez showed up nonetheless. Rafa Mir scored Sevilla’s first to establish an early lead in the 31st, but Alvarez helped City strike back.</p>



<p> He cut out a lazy pass with his dogged pressing before playing a pinpoint through-ball to Rico Lewis, who buried his golden chance in the 52nd.</p>



<p>Alvarez took the lead with a goal of his own, latching on to a great through-ball, catching Sevilla’s Bounou off his line, and knocking in an easy chance. </p>



<p>His second-ever Champions League goal gave Manchester City a well-deserved lead. Again, Alvarez squeezed water out of stone by creating a big chance. </p>



<p>His press caught a Sevilla defender by surprise, and he started a very potent counter-attack. Alvarez squared the ball to Riyad Mahrez, who easily hit City’s third goal of the night</p>



<h4>Doha awaits</h4>



<p>Alvarez deservingly made the 26-man roster for the World Cup, albeit not as one of the key, starting attackers. The City striker found himself behind Lautaro Martinez and his childhood idol Lionel Messi on the depth chart. Yet, surprisingly, the position began to open up.</p>



<p>Martinez began having mediocre performances. Against Saudi Arabia, he frequently got caught out offsides. </p>



<p>He had another middling performance against Mexico, where he could not get involved with the offense very much. Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni decided to gamble on the precocious Alvarez by giving him a start in a crucial showdown with Poland. </p>



<p>Alvarez proved Scaloni right. He scored in their 2-0 win over Poland to give them first-place in their group, and he went on to score another goal in their 2-1 nailbiter against Australia. It leads us to a big semi-final matchup against a Croatia side looking to pull off the unimaginable and upset Argentina. </p>



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<p>Not on Julian Alvarez’s watch.</p>



<p>Alvarez showed why the likes of Pep Guardiola and Stefano Pioli recognized him as a great talent. He lacerated Croatia’s sturdy defense, drawing a penalty in the 32nd minute to give Argentina an early lead. </p>



<p>Alvarez burst through yet again in the 39th minute. He picked up a shoved pass near the halfway line and used his impressive speed to start a counter-attack. After beating both Marcelo Brozovic and Josip Juranovic, he beat Dominik Livakovic to widen Argentina’s lead. </p>



<p>Alvarez’s dominance over a Croatia defense in disarray did not stop there. A magnificent assist from Messi where he beat Josko Gvardiol ended in a precise Alvarez finish. The slot from the penalty spot gave Argentina a comfy three-goal cushion and an eventual spot in the World Cup finals.</p>



<p>With the legacy of Lionel Messi and the reputation of Argentina on the line, Julian Alvarez figures to show up in the biggest match of his life. Representing his hometown Caichin and his boyhood club River Plate, he will be sure to show out against France.</p>



<p>Photo credit: IMAGO / TT</p>



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<h3>Guide to World Cup 2022</h3>
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The rapid rise of Julian Alvarez on the World Cup stage

Julian Alvarez leading Argentina to a World Cup final may come as a shock to many. But fans following him have known it was coming.

The rapid rise of Julian Alvarez on the World Cup stage - World Soccer Talk

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Mahrez stars as City manage incredible Spurs comeback

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The rapid rise of Julian Alvarez on the World Cup stage