05 February 2023 , 23:48
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Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola said he would not repeat his characterisation of Tottenham as 'The Harry Kane team' for fear of upsetting former Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino.
Argentine coach Pochettino hasn't been in charge of Spurs since 2019, when he was sacked a few months after reaching the Champions League final. The London side have appointed several coaches since his dismissal, with Jose Mourinho and Nuno Espirito Santo both having spells in charge before current manager Antonio Conte took over midway through the 2021-22 season.
Guardiola's description of Spurs as The Harry Kane team dates back to the 2017-18 season. He refused to repeat the phrase on Sunday, though, despite Kane breaking Spurs' all-time goalscoring record in a 1-0 victory over City.
"I'm not going to say the Harry Kane team otherwise Pochettino will be grumpy and I don't want it," Guardiola said after his team's latest loss. "But on behalf of Manchester City, I can say congratulations on this incredible milestone. He [Kane] is an exceptional player."
Spurs' leading man needed just 15 minutes to break the deadlock on Sunday, moving clear of Jimmy Greaves in Spurs' all-time charts in the process. The visitors had chances to equalise, with Riyad Mahrez hitting the woodwork, but one goal proved to be enough for the home side.
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Harry Kane is now Tottenham's all-time leading scorer (AFP via Getty Images)"We have [Manchester] United and the Harry Kane team who scores every game 2 or 3 goals. Jose [Mourinho] with United will always be tough,” Guardiola said in October 2017, when his team sat first in the table with Mourinho's Man Utd second and Spurs third. City went on to win the league that season, though, for their first title under their current manager.
"It's hard to put it into words, just a magical moment and I was so desperate to do it with a win as well, I wanted to win so bad," Kane told Sky Sports after his record-breaking goal. "Once we went 1-0 up it was just about keeping the clean sheet and to do it in front of the home fans just a moment I'll never forget.
Pep refused to repeat the phrase (Sky Sports)"Especially being here at home in front of the fans, there's been so much talk about it over the last couple of weeks and I just wanted to get it done as soon as possible so to do it in a big game against one of the best teams in the world, it's a special feeling."
Kane became the quickest player to reach 200 Premier League goals when he sent Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg's pass beyond the reach of Ederson. He needs just eight more goals in the competition to match Wayne Rooney's career tally, but is still 60 adrift of all-time leader Alan Shearer.