City lose at home to Spurs again

Manchester City 0 - 2 Tottenham Hotspur 

City lose at home to Spurs. Yes, this has happened again.

Author | Macca

Stadium | Etihad Stadium

Tottenham repeated last season’s dominance over Manchester City with another away victory, this time built on defensive resilience rather than attacking flair under new head coach Thomas Frank.

City threatened early when Omar Marmoush pounced on Pedro Porro’s misplaced header and dragged a shot just wide, before forcing Guglielmo Vicario into action twice more, one a fierce long-range drive and the other a low effort after being slipped in by Erling Haaland.

But it was Spurs who struck first. Their opening attack produced a rapid counter, Richarlison’s low cross turned in by Brennan Johnson. The flag went up, only for VAR to overturn the offside decision.

Seven minutes of stoppage time at the end of the half, the result of an injury to Rayan Aït-Nouri, proved costly for City. Goalkeeper James Trafford gifted possession inside his own box and João Palhinha thumped home to double the lead. Trafford, already fortunate to avoid a red card for clattering Mohammed Kudus moments earlier, endured a torrid spell.

Haaland should have halved the deficit before the break but headed over from close range. City’s frustrations only deepened after the restart as Spurs held firm. Two games into the Premier League season, Thomas Frank has overseen back-to-back wins and clean sheets, signalling a strong start to his tenure.

City fail to build on positive start

City started the season with an eye-catching victory at Wolves but came back down to earth with a bump as they suffered defeat in their first home game of the campaign.

Spurs are Guardiola's bogey side, he has now lost a joint-high 10 games against them, the same number of defeats he has suffered as boss against Real Madrid and Liverpool.

They were made to pay for the gilt-edged chances missed by Marmoush and Haaland, the latter coming into the contest with an imperious record of scoring 48 Premier League goals in as many home games for the club.

A 2-0 half-time deficit proved too much for City to turn around, with Spurs defending resolutely and leaving Guardiola considering his options.

The goalkeeping situation will be at the forefront of his mind as Trafford had a jittery game and was at fault for the second, as well as being fortunate not to be dismissed.

With Ederson watching on from the bench after being heavily linked with a move to Galatasaray, Guardiola now has a decision to make with his number one.