Manchester City 1 – 2 Tottenham: Darren Bent Shoots Straight

Darren Bent got two. Three players were sent off. The reality-warping aura of Harry Redknapp enjoyed a breezy Sunday drive.

Richard Dunne committed a Paul-Robinson-in-Croatia-class error to surrender Bent’s tying goal, then drew a straight red card to complete a performance that will severely challenge the resolve of professional player-raters never to acknowledge the existence of a number under four. Dunne was joined in dismissal by Gelson Fernandes of his own team and by Tottenham’s unconvincingly be-cornrowed Benoît Assou-Ekotto, whose gentle, gentle hairstyle is perhaps as plain an index to the unpredictable influence of Harry Redknapp as this or any other game.

Now that the sun is setting and the photographers have gone home, I’d like to think that Robinho and Shaun Wright-Phillips are still out there, racing up and down the pitch in elaborate, twining patterns, daring anyone to tell them apart.