Manchester City are top of the league and the question is, on this form, how is that supposed to change? Unless Chelsea can do anything about it on Monday, what many felt would be the closest title race in years may soon turn into a procession.
Arsenal, in second place, are two months away from their home fixture against City, by which time who knows what the margin might be? City's slips came at the start of the season, away from home, and without them they would be substantially clear already. Right now, they are an entirely different proposition, relentless and unforgiving. If they have a kick to unleash down the final straight, the contest is over.
City were not at their best at White Hart Lane, because the conditions were foul and not conducive to sexy football. They were, however, in charge for the large part of the game and only faltered late in the first-half, thrown by what appeared to be a hamstring injury to Sergio Aguero. That was City's only bad news of the night.
VIDEO: Scroll down for reaction from Pellegrini and Sherwood
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Goalden boy: Sergio Aguero celebrates after giving Manchester City an early lead at White Hart Lane
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Down and out: Aguero sits on the floor after injuring his hamstring, and had to be substituted
Match Facts
Tottenham: Lloris 5; Walker 5, Chiriches 5, Dawson 5, Rose 5; Lennon 5, Dembele 4 (Capoue 46, 6), Bentaleb 5, Sigurdsson 5 (Naughton 55, 5); Eriksen 6 (Holtby 83), Adebayor 5.
Subs not used: Friedel, Soldado, Defoe, Chadli.
Goal: Capoue 58.
Booked: Naughton.
Sent off: Rose.
Manager: Tim Sherwood 6.
Manchester City: Hart 6; Zabaleta 7, Kompany 7, Dimichelis 7, Clichy 7; Navas 7, Toure 7 (Nastasic 63, 6), Fernandinho 7, Silva 8 (Kolarov 80); Dzeko 7, Aguero 8 (Jovetic 44, 7)
Subs not used: Pantilimon, Lescott, Negredo, Rodwell.
Booked: Toure, Aguero, Dimechelis, Zabaleta.
Goals: Aguero 15, Toure 50 (pen), Dzeko 53, Jovetic 78, Kompany 89.
Manager: Manuel Pellegrini 8.
Man of the match: David Silva.
Referee: Andre Marriner 5.
Attendance: 36,071
*Player ratings by NEIL ASHTON at White Hart Lane
Had Aguero stayed fit, Manuel Pellegrini's careworn face might have been replaced by a sloppy grin. Had Aguero stayed fit, however, and who knows what the damage might have been. City could have been five up after 22 minutes and, even without Aguero, they added another four.
The locals will claim rotten luck around a disallowed goal - right - and a second-half penalty to give City a two goal lead - wrong - but the aggregate score between these teams this season is 11-1 and it takes a lot more than one over-eager linesman to create a margin of superiority as significant as that.
Danny Rose was hugely unlucky to be dismissed for a foul that wasn't but the scoreline was no miscarriage of justice. City hit the woodwork twice and had another effort cleared off the line.
They really are a very good team. The match with Barcelona next month is a real test - for the Catalans.
The problem with announcing a fatwah on holding midfield players, as Tim Sherwood and his managerial team have at Tottenham, is that a viable alternative must be produced.
Whatever Tottenham were playing on Wednesday night wasn't it. Early on, Manchester City were into their back four much like a herd of rhinoceros would make their way through a Wendy House. A very skilful, intelligent herd of rhinoceros, obviously. And a not particularly well constructed Wendy House.
At least the first goal here was measured in minutes though, not seconds, as had been the case at the Etihad Stadium earlier in the season.
Losing 6-0 up there was the match that spelled the beginning of the end for former manager Andre Villas-Boas, and there is hardly much solace in a slightly improved showing second time around. Indeed, such was City's dominance that by the time Aguero opened the scoring after 14 minutes there were genuine fears of a repeat.
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Strike three: Dzeko (centre) rams home City's third of the night after great work by David Silva
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10 out of 10 for that effort: Dzeko celebrates putting City three up
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Making Spurs pay the penalty: Yaya Toure rolls home City's second from the spot
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A real pick me up: Dzeko and Fernandinho haul Toure up off the floor following the celebration
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Red Rose: Tottenham full back Danny Rose (centre) is sent off after his challenge on Dzeko (below)
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Controversy: Rose got his foot to the ball but referee Andre Marriner deemed it was a foul and a penalty
Season at glance
- Premier League
- Championship
- League One
- League Two
- Scottish Premiership
- Scottish Div 1
- Scottish Div 2
- Scottish Div 3
The game was only four minutes old when Aguero had Vlad Chiriches running in circles in the penalty area, frantically pursuing the striker who is Luis Suarez's only rival for the Footballer of the Year award - or would be if he could stay fit.
Aguero ran a beautiful arc with Chiriches in his wake before sighting the angle to goal that he wanted and unleashing a shot which crashed against the inside of the far post, but somehow stayed out.
Six minutes later Edin Dzeko played a lovely one-two with Aguero to leave Kyle Walker on his backside, but was too excited by the opportunity. A little thought would have finished the job.
The focus required was provided by Aguero for City's opening goal. It was a superb pass by David Silva that began the move, but Aguero's finish was the highlight of the first-half, drawing Hugo Lloris and then side-footing the ball past him, with just the right degree of firmness and masterful accuracy.
He made it look easy. It wasn't. It was textbook, an athlete at the peak of his powers and in control of his craft. When Aguero left the field injured late in the first half it was briefly to the benefit of the contest, but the detriment of the game. It looked like a hamstring injury, sustained under the pressure of the chase from Michael Dawson. A significant blow for City, with so many key games coming up.
Before that, however, City had three more chances to further their lead. Jesus Navas set up Dzeko in the 15th minute, but his shot was again poor and misdirected. Soon after, Gael Clichy outstripped Walker again and crossed, Aguero coming in on the blind side and steering a header that looked goalbound until Lloris somehow clawed it away with one hand; the save of the night, and perhaps among the best of the season.
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Trademark finish: That man Aguero slips the ball beyond Hugo Lloris to put the visitors 1-0 up
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Fully focused: Aguero (left) watches as the ball rolls beyond Lloris and into the corner
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Scant consolation: Etiene Capoue got one back for Tottenham but it never threatened City's dominance
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Feast of Stevan: City striker Stevan Jovetic (right) drills home his side's fourth, his first Premier League goal
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Good Kompany: City skipper Vincent Kompany salutes scoring his team's fifth and final goal
Wrong calls impact on title race
Assistant referee Scott Ledger had a major impact on the Premier League title chase last night as he made two huge wrong decisions.
In the first half Ledger cost Tottenham a vital equaliser when he raised his flag as Michael Dawson headed home a Christian Eriksen free-kick.
There were thoughts that Emmanuel Adebayor, who was in an offside position as the ball was crossed, might have been given offside but Ledger was alleged to have confirmed that it was Dawson for whom he flagged.
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Not offside: The yellow line shows Dawson was on when the ball was kicked
In the second half, Ledger signalled a penalty to Manchester City when Tottenham’s Danny Rose made a superb last-ditch tackle to deny Edin Dzeko, leaving referee Andre Marriner with no choice but to show Rose the red card for denying a clear goalscoring opportunity.
In fact, Rose had clipped the ball away from Dzeko, who then crumpled to the ground. Sometimes playing the ball is not enough as the follow-through wipes out the opponent; that was not the case here. It should have been a corner.
Graham Poll
In the 22nd minute, a Silva corner was met by Dzeko whose header was kicked off the line by Rose before the ball found its way to Aguero for another effort that travelled just over the bar.
It was soon after this point that Tottenham felt they had equalised. Dawson got the ball into the net but was ruled offside, along with Emmanuel Adebayor who, while not touching the ball, had to be in goalkeeper Joe Hart's line of sight. So the Tottenham fans were already smarting when Rose suffered the injustice that made victory close to impossible.
At first sight, it certainly looked a penalty but there was a reason why referee Andre Marriner hesitated, and it was shown in the television replays, Rose having got a touch to the ball before the rest of his challenge sent Dzeko clattering to the turf.
Sadly, a linesman saw otherwise, flagged for the foul and sealed Rose's fate. Off he went and Yaya Toure converted the penalty, smartly to the right. With social media so prevalent it does not take long for fans to find out the truth these days, and very soon word reached White Hart Lane that Rose was victim not felon.
Minutes later, the match was over. Pablo Zabaleta cut the ball back to David Silva in the penalty area, his shot hit a post and ricocheted to substitute Stevan Jovetic.
It may have been a miskick, but he found Dzeko and the finish brooked no argument. Tottenham were done, even if the fans still held a man with a flag responsible.
Indeed, so many of them were busy haranguing the poor soul that they missed Etienne Capoue's goal. It was not quite a classic by White Hart Lane standards, an unsightly scramble from a corner that ended with bodies on the floor and the ball in the net.
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Stopped in their tracks: Dawson (left) was ruled to be offside and this goal was disallowed
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Space invader: Tottenham No 2 Steffen Freund gets up close to City boss Manuel Pellegrini
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Get up: Emmanuel Adebayor (on floor) argues with City defender Martin Demichelis (right)
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Early greeting: Demichelis (left) puts in a challenge on former City striker Adebayor
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Observer: England manager Roy Hodgson was at White Hart Lane to watch some of his players
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Memorial: The scoreboard before kick-off paid tribute to Tottenham fan Roger Lloyd-Pack, who played Trigger in Only Fools and Horses. He died a fortnight ago
SPORTSMAIL'S SUPER STAT
The last time Man City beat Tottenham 5-1 at White Hart Lane was in August 2011. The omens are good for City. That season they went on to win the league.
It was that sort of night, though. City's last two goals were not much better.
For the fourth, Jovetic cut inside and benefitted from a slight deflection, his first goal for the club since his £22m transfer and a necessary icebreaker if he is to stand-in for Aguero in the coming weeks.
The fifth, scored by Vincent Kompany 11 minutes later, came after Dzeko's shot was deflected to his feet. Having scored five, the linesman might just be off the hook.
This City team has no need of assistance. No need at all.
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