Match: City 2-3 Spurs
Venue: Maine Road
Date: 23 December 2002
Competition: Premier League
Scorer: Ali Benarbia, 90th minute
Goal of the Day: 9 February
For fans of a certain age, Ali Benarbia would sit somewhere near the top of any list of City cult heroes.
For the uninitiated, the Algerian is a contender for City’s best ever free transfer signing, as he arrived in September 2001 as one of a raft of new arrivals brought to the club by manager Kevin Keegan.
It was a deal that went largely unheralded as the former PSG man took up the no.44 jersey and made his debut 24 hours later against Birmingham City.
Quite simply, he didn’t look back… Ali B struck up an incredible partnership with Eyal Berkovic that season as the Blues returned to the Premier League in fine style, amassing more than 100 points and scoring more than 100 goals.
Although Ali B was unable to fully replicate his stunning form in the top division due in large part to more conservative, less freewheeling tactics, he still showed flickers of his brilliance, including this brilliant hit against Spurs.
City may have gone on to lose this five-goal thriller and this may have been a late consolation strike but it’s still one that will have lived long in the memory for those present.
