FA Cup holders Manchester City were slow to book their place in the fifth round with Nathan Ake's 88th-minute effort securing a 1-0 win at Tottenham Hotspur on Friday.
City had never won at Tottenham's new stadium, nor had they even scored a goal in their five previous visits. But Ake fired in from close range after home goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario hit a Kevin De Bruyne corner and the ball came loose.
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Spurs protested that Vicario had been fouled by City defender Rúben Dias but, following a VAR review, the goal was allowed to stand.
Tottenham could have had few real complaints as they were second best for long periods against Pep Guardiola's side and barely forced Stefan Ortega into a notable save.
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“Today we did incredibly well. I liked everything, from minute one to minute 95. We are trying to defend the title and coming here is difficult,” Guardiola said.
“We created a lot in every game and we have courage with or without the ball, so I'm very happy.”
Manchester City's record at Tottenham has been something of an anomaly considering their success elsewhere.
They had lost their last four Premier League games there without scoring and also suffered a 1-0 defeat in the 2019 Champions League semi-final.
As the final duel reached the final minutes, the efforts of Bernardo Silva and De Bruyne meant City had gone unrewarded for 101 attempts on goal at Tottenham's grand new stadium, which hosted 9,000 visiting City fans.
But when Vicario couldn't hold the ball in a crowded area under pressure, Ake pounced.
City had dominated the first half and Oscar Bobb had an early effort ruled out for offside, while Tottenham, usually so offensive, were forced to defend desperately.
The second half was more even until City upped the ante by sending in De Bruyne and Jérémy Doku with 25 minutes remaining. Silva was denied by Vicario and De Bruyne shot centimeters wide after a mistake by Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg.
Not even the arrival of James Maddison from the bench for his first appearance since suffering an ankle injury in November could inspire the hosts who had a shot on target.
It was the first time Tottenham had failed to score in a competitive match since manager Ange Postecoglou took charge.
“We worked hard to stay in the game and conceded too late. But they were better,” Postecoglou admitted.
“They make you suffer at some points, so we had to work hard and overall we defended well.”
Reuters contributed to this report.
