What's wrong with Man City? Misfiring Haaland, defensive woes and fatigue hit Premier League and treble defence

Erling Haaland whipped himself into an epic rage of instant-meme proportions after referee Simon Hooper bizarrely denied Manchester City a potential chance at a last-gasp winner during Sunday’s rollercoaster 3-3 draw against Tottenham.

Pep Guardiola also complained vociferously, having thrown himself backwards onto the turf a few moments earlier after Dejan Kulusevski’s 90th-minute equaliser. That was the sixth time in a run of three consecutive Premier League draws that last season’s treble winners had conceded a lead.

The sum of late levellers from Chelsea, Liverpool and Spurs, along with Gabriel Martinelli’s deflected winner when City travelled to Arsenal in October, is seven points dropped due to goals conceded inside the final 10 minutes of matches.

“I learned from Johan Cruyff that bad luck in football does not exist,” Guardiola said after the Spurs game, quoting his great mentor. “It is what it is.”

So if it isn't a simple case of Murphy’s law, then what’s going on?

 Man City vs Tottenham final score, highlights, result as Kulusevski snatches point for Spurs amid late drama

Haaland letting rip at Hooper — who played advantage after the Norwegian superstar was fouled by Emerson Royal, only to bring play back after he’d released Jack Grealish with a superb lofted pass —  took some attention away from his horror miss during the first half at the weekend.

With the score at 1-1, one of the themes of the game unfolded as City won possession deep inside Tottenham territory. Bernardo Silva squared to Haaland, who had the simple task of sweeping into the net. Spurs goalkeeper Gugliemo Vicario was scrambling back from his near post, with centre-back Ben Davies the sole player between the striker and the goal.

The Etihad Stadium