Tottenham Hotspur moved to within a point of third placed Liverpool tonight after a strike in each half earned them full points at the City of Manchester Stadium.
Captain Robbie Keane sealed the points in the 85th minute after latching on to an Ahmed Mido flicking on and firing low and hard past David James in the Man City net.
Sylvain Distin committed defensive suicide to hand Tottenham the lead.
The Frenchman’s decision to let Paul Stalteri's through ball run out of play proved costly as Aaron Lennon raced on and cut it back from the dead ball line for Mido to fire home.
A slow start desperately needed a touch of class to liven it up and Michael Carrick almost provided it with a 20-yard drive which was not that far off the target, even if James appeared to have it well covered.
Young-pyo Lee was left for dead by Trevor Sinclair and the former England winger turned Carrick inside out too, eventually winning a free-kick from the midfielder which Michael Dawson turned away for another corner.
Richard Dunne's clearing header ensured Keane's deft footwork came to nothing but not long afterwards, Tottenham went in front thanks to some calamitous defending from the home side.
When the immediate inquest began, Distin appeared to indicate he had heard a call from James telling him to let Paul Stalteri's pass run out of play for a goal kick.
Certainly, Lennon chased on more in hope than expectation of getting it - but he spotted his opportunity when Distin deliberately ran over the ball, racing to the byline before pulling it back to Mido, whose first-time shot found the net despite Dunne lunging out a leg on the line.
Spurs should have had another when Lennon beat Stephen Ireland and sent over another excellent cross. Mido's initial header was blocked but the loose ball fell to Keane, whose volley flashed wide.
Lee nipped in to rob Cole close to the Spurs goal, then Distin's attempt to make amends for his earlier blunder came to nothing when he nodded Ireland's corner wide.
Carrick was booked in the 41st minute for a sliding foul from behind which halted Ireland's charge upfield. Mido then took Joey Barton's powerful free-kick full in the face, much to his discomfort.
Another Barton free-kick flew into the side netting in stoppage time, leaving Pearce to offer his thoughts on a defensive blunder which would have left him fuming.
City lacked penetration in the second half and were struggling to break some organised Spurs defending.
Bradley Wright-Phillips flashed a shot just wide and Andrew Cole was guilty of poor miss up front.
Both were punished with minutes remaining when Keane justified his recent selections at the expense of Defoe and secured Spurs’ position amongst the Premiership’s elite for another week.
