What Pep Guardiola did to Cristian Romero after Man City win vs Tottenham as Arsenal dealt blow

Son Heung-min's miss in the 86th minute of Tottenham's encounter against Man City may well become one of the biggest 'what if' moments in recent Premier League history. Trailing 1-0 in such a pivotal game in the title race, time no doubt stood still for fans of Tottenham, Man City and Arsenal as the South Korean raced through on goal with time running out.

Put into such an inviting position after Brennan Johnson had pressurised Manuel Akanji into losing the ball, Son looked a certainty to net. After all, he has scored that opportunity countless times in the past when put through one-on-one against the goalkeeper.

At a time when all connected with Man City collectively held their breath as they were on the verge of surrendering one hand on the Premier League trophy going into the final game of the term, Arsenal fans did likewise as they looked for a favour from fierce rivals Tottenham. Spurs fans themselves were no doubt going through a whole host of emotions as many had made it perfectly clear that they did not want to take anything from the game to hand the Gunners the title advantage.

Now just inside the penalty box and with Ruben Dias trying his best to get back to challenge him, Son shot at goal but Stefan Ortega managed to get a foot to his low effort. It was a moment that drew comparisons with Emiliano Martinez's save in the dying seconds of the 2022 World Cup final as he denied France's Randal Kolo Muani with an outstretched leg.

It was even a moment that had Man City boss Pep Guardiola on the floor given the enormity of it. Ortega had only been on the pitch for just shy of 20 minutes at that point after Ederson had to make way following a unfortunate collision with Cristian Romero.

Romero had every right to go for the ball as Dejan Kulusevski swung in an inviting cross but his hip appeared to make contact with the Man City shot-stopper's head. Having received medical treatment for a couple of minutes and got back to his feet to play on, Ederson exited the pitch in the 69th minute and he made his feelings perfectly clear as he kicked some objects on the ground on his way to taking his seat in the dugout.

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Filling in expertly at times for the Brazilian this season, Ortega once again produced a huge display to frustrate Tottenham, who created some very good chances late on, and deliver a hammer blow to Arsenal in the process. Always going to be such a pivotal game in the context of the season, the celebrations from the Man City players and fans said everything as the final whistle sounded.

The TV cameras even spotted a moment between Guardiola and Romero moments after the final whistle as the Spaniard made his way on to the pitch. Saying a few words to the Tottenham defender, the former Barcelona manager could be seen pointing at the World Cup winner before giving him a couple of playful punches in the chest.

Having a smile on his face, Romero also looked a tad bashful and that was no doubt because of his unfortunate part in Ederson's exit and Ortega, who turned out to be such a pivotal figure in the match and also possibly now the season, coming on. In terms of City's first goal of the evening, Phil Foden did get the better of Romero on the halfway line and progressed upfield as Erling Haaland netted from point-blank range.

Ange Postecoglou was not happy about Man City's opener and he revealed in his post-match press conference that he was "really disappointed" by it. Spurs certainly took the game to City and had a number of openings in the second half, with Ortega most notably on hand to deny them in the closing minutes when Son was put clean through.

Very much a huge moment in the season with Man City now on the verge of making it four successive Premier League titles, Son's miss really is a 'what if' moment for Tottenham, Man City and Arsenal.

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