London: Tottenham was held to a 0-0 draw by Manchester City in the opening match of the new Premier League season on Saturday after City goalkeeper Joe Hart made several world-class saves.
The England international, who was selected ahead of Ireland No. 1 Shay Given by City coach Roberto Mancini, denied Jermain Defoe, Tom Huddlestone and Benoit Assou-Ekotto during a dominant first half from Spurs in which Gareth Bale also struck a post.
City has now spent more than 100 million pounds ($156 million) on players in the offseason after striker Mario Balotelli joined on Friday, but its players rarely tested goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes despite improving considerably after halftime at White Hart Lane.
Last season, Tottenham edged City to the final Champions League spot. But there appeared to be a gulf in ability on Saturday despite the visitors starting new signings Yaya Toure, David Silva and Aleksandar Kolarov, worth a combined 69 million pounds.
"We needed to get a result today as a big team. There's been so much speculation about us," Hart said. "We had to dig in in the first half, but we had a few chances and maybe we could have taken them."
Hart's first save was probably his best, diving to his left to stop Defoe's swivelling close-range shot from Peter Crouch's headed pass in the 11th minute and then following up to block Ledley King's attempt on the rebound.
Soon after, Hart flew to his right to palm away Huddlestone's controlled shot from the edge of the box, and he then tipped Assou-Ekotto's fiercely hit drive over the crossbar moments later.
Hart rescued City again seconds later when Vincent Kompany was beaten to the ball by Defoe, who failed to tap in the rebound.
"He was in great form, they've got two good 'keepers and the young kid had a great day today," Spurs manager Harry Redknapp told the Press Association. "But I couldn't have asked for more, they (Spurs) were fantastic.
"I think they ran out of a bit of steam, but overall I thought it was a great performance from us. We were fantastic but we just couldn't get the two extra points. But if we play like this all season we will be right up there."
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