Tottenham threw a spanner in the works in Man City’s pursuit of an unprecedented quadruple after they conjured up a 1-0 win in their new pad on Tuesday night.
The result also meant that Mauricio Pochettino prevented Pep Guardiola from drawing level with Sir Alex Ferguson, Jose Mourinho, and Carlo Ancelotti on 27 career Champions League knockout wins - for now.
It was a special occasion for the North London club who have now registered two wins out of two in what is being labelled 'the best stadium in the world'. Hugo Lloris’ early penalty save proved to be pivotal as Son Heung-min struck late to give his side the advantage ahead of the second-leg.
However, the result came at a cost, as star man Harry Kane hobbled off the pitch with an ankle injury. Pochettino has since revealed that the England skipper could now be ruled out for the rest of the season. If so, it's undoubtedly a huge blow for the club, who are gunning for Champions League glory and a top-4 finish, and for England, who are looking to win the inaugural Nations League trophy in early June.
It is, of course, not the first injury setback Kane has had this season, having previously been ruled out for two months in January after damaging ligaments in his ankle.
Below we look at Tottenham's record WITH and WITHOUT Kane this season...
WITH Kane
Kane has appeared in 39 of Tottenham 48 matches in all competitions, during which he’s fired in 24 goals, and recorded six assists.
He’s played 28 out of the club’s 32 league games, scoring 17 goals and assisting four.
He’s featured in eight of the club’s nine Champions League matches, bagging five goals and an assist.
The striker has a goal and an assist from two League Cup matches, while he scored in Tottenham’s 7-0 hammering of Tranmere in the FA Cup.
Wins: 24
Draws: 3
Defeats: 12
Win Ratio: 61.5%
Kane Goals: 24
Kane Assists: 6
No Kane, no problem as Son stuns Man City.
Relive the night Spurs' new stadium became a home with #NoFilterUCL.
WITHOUT Kane
Not too bad actually. In the four league games he’s missed - all through injury - Tottenham were victorious.
Spurs also triumphed, rather convincingly, in the only Champions League game he’s missed, the 3-0 trouncing of Borussia Dortmund.
In the three League Cup matches he was absent for Spurs won twice - one via penalties - and then lost via this outcome in the semi-final second-leg to Chelsea. Then in the FA Cup they were dumped out by Crystal Palace.
Wins: 7
Draws: 0
Defeats: 2
Win Ratio: 77.8%
It’s perhaps worth noting that the four league games Kane missed through injury were against Fulham, Newcastle, Leicester, and Watford - with respect, matches you’d expect them to win. The same could be said about a couple of early round League Cup matches against Watford and West Ham - he was rested for both.
Who can step up in Kane’s absence?
During the seven-game stretch he missed through injury between January and February, Heung-Min Son bagged four goals (in four games) after returning from international duty, while he also scored the winner on Wednesday. When Kane returned to the team Son only scored once when they were both on the field.
You may be surprised to hear that a certain Fernando Llorente scored three goals in that period - he’s on seven in total for the season. The Spaniard is now likely to play a more prominent part in the team, as is Lucas Moura who is by no means prolific, but has scored against the likes of Liverpool, Barcelona, and Man Utd this season, while he impressed off the bench against Man City after Kane was forced off.
