Late Nathan Ake goal sends Manchester City into FA Cup fifth round

In a contest bereft of killer instinct throughout, Nathan Ake's late strike saw the Citizens finally end their scoreless hoodoo at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and book their place in round five, although the Dutchman's effort was shrouded in familiar controversy, as Guglielmo Vicario felt that he had been fouled from the corner.

A sight for sore Tottenham eyes, James Maddison was back on the hosts' bench for the first time since sustaining his severe ankle injury in November, while Pep Guardiola sprung a surprise by introducing Oscar Bobb into the Citizens' XI.

The Norwegian starlet was rewarded for netting City's dramatic late goal against Newcastle United in the Premier League, and he had the ball in the back of the Tottenham net within the opening five minutes, prodding home from a yard out after Vicario parried Phil Foden's shot into his path.

However, the linesman's offside flag was raised immediately, and following a VAR check lasting a good couple of minutes, the on-field decision was upheld; Bobb's left boot had just strayed offside as Foden got his shot off.

The holders remained in the ascendancy in the 15 minutes that followed, but Spurs weathered the City storm and began to knock the ball about, albeit without any penetration to show for it.

That theme continued for both sides as the clock ticked down to half time, as promising attacking sequences ended with poor final balls or brave blocks, although neither Postecoglou nor Guardiola made any changes during the interval.

Within just three minutes of the restart, the Spurs goal was gaping for Julian Alvarez as Bobb's cross bounced across to his teammate unchecked, but Micky van de Ven made a sensational sliding block to deny the Argentina international a certain goal.

An explosive start to the second half from City soon faded out, and Tottenham had a couple of half-hearted penalty appeals waved away before Guardiola blinked first, introducing Jeremy Doku and Kevin De Bruyne into the fray.

With the tie still on a knife-edge in the final 20 minutes, Postecoglou followed suit and brought on Maddison to raucous applause from the Tottenham crowd, but his comeback did little to help Spurs find their shooting boots.

The two best chances of the match fell to Man City in the 80th and 81st minute thanks to a pair of howlers from Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, but the Dane's blushes were spared on both occasions; Bernardo Silva shot straight at Vicario just before De Bruyne sent a fierce strike wide of the post from inside the box.

After letting Tottenham off the hook, City continued to force the issue and tested Vicario again in the 86th minute; the Italian was equal to Doku's low strike, but he was finally beaten just two moments later.

An inswinging De Bruyne corner was heading straight for Vicario's gloves, but the Tottenham number one flapped at the ball under pressure from Ruben Dias, and Ake was in the right place at the right time to prod home the loose ball.

Tottenham were unsurprisingly up in arms, having believed that Vicario was illegally impeded by Dias, but neither Paul Tierney nor the VAR room saw it from the hosts' point of view, and City's Tottenham Hotspur Stadium demons were finally exorcised.

Tottenham now have four full days to debrief and recuperate before hosting London rivals Brentford in Wednesday's Premier League clash, while City are also in top-flight action on January 31, welcoming Burnley to the Etihad Stadium.