Ten-man Tottenham Hotspur were left to rue Danny Rose’s second half red card as they slipped to a crushing 5-1 defeat at the hands of title-chasers Manchester City at White Hart Lane.

Sergio Aguero put City in front on 14 minutes when he coolly slotted past Lloris but Spurs mounted a comeback towards the end of the first half and had a goal disallowed for offside before Aguero limped off.

But Danny Rose was shown red when he conceded a penalty five minutes after the break with a rash tackle on Edin Dzeko, and Yaya Toure dispatched the spot kick that finished the tie.

Dzeko added a third before Etienne Capoue gave Spurs a glimmer of hope when he pulled one back with 30 minutes to play and roared the White Hart Lane crowd into life.

But Spurs’ legs tired before Stevan Jovetic added a fourth for City and Vincent Kompany made it five to complete a victory that  leaves Tottenham in fifth place, three points behind Liverpool, while City leapfrog Arsenal to the top of the Premier League.

Spurs 6-0 mauling at the Etihad stadium earlier this season spelled the beginning of the end for Andre Villas-Boas, but Tim Sherwood can perhaps take heart from the fact Spurs were well in the game before the decisive second-half sending off.

The visitors, enjoying an unbeaten run of 19 games coming into this fixture, came out of the blocks at a furious pace and dazzled Spurs with the speed of their passing and movement.

Aguero skipped round two Spurs defenders and was only denied by the inside of the far post as he beat Lloris with a deft right footed shot.

Dzeko then cut inside Walker who slipped but the forward blazed his finished over the bar from the left side of the box.

City had all the possession, with Spurs struggling to find an outlet, and it was Aguero who gave the visitors the lead when he was played in behind by Silva and decisively slotted his finish past Lloris from a tight angle.

Lloris pulled off a spectacular save to deny Aguero a second as the Argentinian headed from close range before Dawson was forced into a last ditch lunge to clear the ball in front of the pouncing Dzeko.

The seemingly unstoppable Aguero again went close when he volleyed inches over on the turn inside the box.

Spurs were being pressed all over the park and were frequently pressured into wayward passes in front of an increasingly frustrated White Hart Lane crowd.

Tottenham had the ball in the back of the net on 34 minutes but the linesman flagged for a tight offside when Dawson met Eriksen’s whipped free-kick from the left.

Replays showed Adebayor and Dawson both marginally strayed beyond the City defence as the ball was kicked.

Tempers flared after Aguero went down under an aerial challenge from Dawson and Adebeyor was involved in a coming together with Martin Demichelis as the tie drew to a fiery close at the end of the first half.

And Spurs were handed a glimmer of fortune when Aguero was forced off on the stroke of half time with what appeared to be a pulled hamstring.

Any hope Spurs had of coming back into the game though were ended five minutes into the second half when Danny Rose scythed down Edin Dzeko inside the box.

Referee Andre Marriner initially looked like he was going to play on, but eventually blew and pointed to the spot before producing a red card for Rose on the instruction of the linesman.

Yaya Toure took no hesitation in stepping up to dispatch the spot kick, leaving Spurs with a mountain to climb with ten men.

Tottenham had grounds for complaint as replays suggested Rose played the ball as well as the striker, but there was no denying the venom of the blow delivered to the home side, who were left staring at the prospect of another demoralising defeat to the sky blues from Manchester.

Just moments later it was 3-0, when Dzeko latched on to Silva’s shot as it came back off the post and fell to him with the goal at his mercy.

City’s travelling fans began chanting ‘we want 6-0’ – referring to the corresponding fixture at the Etihad stadium earlier this season – but Capoue salvaged some pride for Tottenham when he bundled home Eriksen’s corner from close range.

Dzeko should have ended the tie when he was found by Clichy inside the box on 64 minutes but he blazed his left-footed effort wildly over the bar after a good first touch.

Spurs were making a go of it, despite their numerical disadvantage, and they retained the ball well despite lacking the clinical final pass needed to trouble City.

The home side’s legs began to tire with 15 minutes to play though and City punished Tottenham by making them chase the ball before rubbing salt in the wound with a fourth through substitute Jovetic, whose deflected shot beat Lloris’s despairing dive.

Vincent Kompany completed the rout when he prodded into an empty net after the ball fell to him at the far post with two minutes to play, leaving Spurs with a goal difference of minus ten in their home and away fixtures against the 2011/12 champions.

Spurs: Lloris, Walker, Dawson, Chiriches, Rose, Bentaleb, Dembele (Capoue, 45), Lennon, Eriksen (Holtby, 82), Sigurdsson (Naughton, 54), Adebayor. Subs: Soldado, Defoe, Chadli, Friedel.

Man City: Hart, Zabaleta, Kompany, Demichelis, Clichy, Jesus Navas, Toure (Nastasic, 63), Fernandinho, Silva (Kolarov, 79), Dzeko, Aguero (Jovetic, 44). Subs: Lescott, Negredo, Rodwell, Pantilimon.

Referee: Andre Marriner (W Midlands).

Bookings: Toure, 33. Demichelis, 39, Aquero 39, Naughton, 64, Zabaleta, 75.