Man City beaten 2-0 at home by Tottenham Hotspur

LONDON – Manchester City’s troubles from last season were exposed once more, in a humbling 2-0 home loss to Tottenham Hotspur on Aug 23 that raised questions over their quest to regain the Premier League title.

Brennan Johnson and Joao Palhinha struck for the Europa League winners just before half-time to secure the victory, making it a perfect start for manager Thomas Frank after two league games in charge.

“Before our goal, they were more on top in the game. But we stayed in it. We were solid, top mentality. After the 1-0 goal, we were more or less the better side.

“I’m very impressed with how we stepped up,” said Frank.

“I found a very strong mentality in the players. It was a group of players that have been through a tough season... those tough moments have pulled them even closer together.

“We have a strong group of players that we believe in. Of course we’d like to add a bit. But only if we can strengthen the squad. The club is working very hard, and I trust them.”

Johnson, meanwhile, said he was “really pleased” with the victory.

“I thought we played really well today, and we built on what we did last weekend (3-0 win over Burnley). To come here, get a clean sheet and score some goals – perfect,” he said.

On the differences between Frank and former Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou, he added: “Nothing massively. Two different coaches. Really enjoying it and a lot of detail goes into the set-pieces, but at the same time he (Frank) gives us a lot of attacking freedom.

“The first few games we have kept two clean sheets and against Man City it is not easy. I have played here a lot of times and (we) conceded a lot of goals.”

City’s run of four consecutive titles came to a spectacular end last season as they finished a distant third behind Liverpool and Arsenal.

A

4-0 thrashing of Wolverhampton Wanderers

on the opening weekend of the campaign showed glimpses of a new-look City back to their best.

However, several defensive issues remain unresolved, while manager Pep Guardiola must decide on who will be his No. 1 goalkeeper going forward after a day to forget for James Trafford.

The England international retained his place in goal despite the return to fitness of Ederson.

The Brazilian is reportedly on the verge of joining Turkish giants Galatasaray, which would free up City to make a move for out-of-favour Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.

City’s failure to get those deals done before the final week of the transfer window came back to haunt them in a familiar tale for Guardiola’s men against Tottenham.

In the last 13 Premier League meetings between the sides, City have won just four despite several changes of management at Spurs in that time.

This time, Tottenham took the lead on 35 minutes when Mohammed Kudus fed Richarlison and he squared for Johnson to power past Trafford.

An offside flag briefly halted Spurs’ joy until a VAR review showed the slipping Ruben Dias had played Richarlison onside.

City then completely lost their composure for the period before half-time.

Trafford was fortunate to avoid being punished after rushing outside his box to block from Kudus.

But the 22-year-old then endured a moment which might cost him the chance to be Guardiola’s No. 1 this season.

His attempted pass to Nico Gonzalez inside his own box was intercepted by Pape Matar Sarr and even though the goalkeeper recovered to deny Richarlison, Palhinha smashed home the rebound.

Spurs let a two-goal lead slip late on against PSG in the Uefa Super Cup in Frank’s first game in charge, but rarely looked in danger of suffering a similar fate.

City fell to defeat with a whimper and could have been further punished on the counter-attack when Trafford made good saves to deny Dominic Solanke and Wilson Odobert in stoppage time.

“Spurs are a team who can be very dangerous, they started the game very well. We didn’t react the best way in sticking to our game,” said City defender Ruben Dias.

Meanwhile, Crystal Palace winger Eberechi Eze, previously linked with a move to Spurs, was unveiled as Arsenal’s new signing on Aug 23.

No fee was disclosed, but the England international, 27, has signed a four-year contract in a deal that could be worth up to £68 million (S$117.9 million) as he returns to his boyhood club. AFP