3 takeaways as City drops points against opportunistic Spurs

Manchester City can feel aggrieved with sharing the spoils with Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday, falling foul due to its profligacy in attack, stiffness in defence, and the eyesight of referee Andre Marriner.

The flashpoint came on 76 minutes. Raheem Sterling was unleashed on goal by a delicious Aleksandar Kolarov through ball and, with just a shaken Hugo Lloris between him and the goal, was given a shove in the back by Kyle Walker.

Perhaps a victim of his own tendency to flop to the turf, Marriner didn't award Sterling a penalty. The assistant referee was nowhere to be seen. Then, just a minute later, five sets of City eyes on Harry Kane allowed Heung-Min Son to steal in behind a perpetually distracted Nicolas Otamendi to level proceedings at 2-2.

Despite an enthralling cameo from City's new signing Gabriel Jesus, Spurs eked out what could be a precious point in their pursuit for the Premier League's top spot, and the home side is left to rue surrendering a 2-0 lead for the first time since December 2014.

Here are three takeaways from a fascinating meeting at the Etihad Stadium:

Laughable Lloris

Lloris, arguably the league's second-best goalkeeper to David De Gea, is a master at closing angles with his superb footwork, can pluck balls out of the furthest corners of his net's border, and never commits himself too early.

Until this weekend, when the Frenchman gave his opposite number - the much-maligned Bravo - a day's rest from the Twitter trolls and mardy media.

City's first, coming off an exploratory punt from Kevin De Bruyne, came when Lloris strangely surged to try to nod the ball. Rather than send the diving header airborne and into space, it was as if he tried to nod it aside to Walker, but instead gifted it to the rapid Sane.

Lloris did his best to surpass that egregious error, leaning over to collect a poor Sterling cross - the ex-Liverpool man's end product was lacking again on the rare occasions he didn't dally in possession and have the ball whipped away - the shot-stopper proceeded to palm the ball right to De Bruyne's feet.

Two-nil.

Every goalkeeper has a bad day at the office, and it's disappointing when it happens to one so fine in his field.

No player on the park would've been able to sympathise more than Bravo, who, just like the previous outing's 4-0 loss at Everton, didn't make a save in the match.

Alli's shadow play

With 11 goals across 21 Premier League appearances, Alli has already surpassed his mark of last year.

It's because he's perfected his runs into the area. In a slightly more advanced position behind Harry Kane, Alli has nabbed seven goals and an assist in his last six showings. Not only does he have a swagger and power reminiscent of Paul Gascoigne - not to mention wonderful twinkle toes - he's also nailed down the timing of ex-Everton favourite Tim Cahill in meeting crosses.

And this tandem strikeforce has also helped Alli's pal.

It took 21 minutes for Kane to get his first touch of the match - and he was crowded out for a lot of the affair - but his telling touch for Son's equaliser and return of six goals and two helpers in his previous five games show he has the ruthlessness that City craves.

If City had an ounce of the killer instinct shown by Mauricio Pochettino's lot, Pep Guardiola's side would've been in the clear long before Alli's header.

Can Jesus resurrect City's hunt for honours?

What an impact from City's £27-million nab from Palmeiras.

Jesus was involved in everything from the moment he was introduced, producing a cutback that was begging for a tap-in, almost arcing a header into the top corner, and then having a goal (correctly) disallowed for offside.

Acquired at the same cost that Manchester United picked up Wayne Rooney for in 2004, the 19-year-old Jesus has the potential to capture records in the same vain, and when assisted by the host of young stars assembled in the attack - the fantastic Leroy Sane, Raheem Sterling, Kelechi Iheanacho, and the various loanees strewn across Europe - City is a decent defence away from being a serious European force.

But in Saturday's test, Tottenham has to be happiest with the point.

The north London side certainly has the parts to compete with Chelsea for first place well into May.