Well, that’s it from me. Make sure to head over to John Brewin’s clockwatch for updates from the 3pm games. I’ll leave you with Jamie Jackson’s report from the Etihad:
Thomas Frank comes out to speak to TNT Sports:
On the game: “Before our goal, without them dominating us, 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 second half.”
On learning from the Super Cup: “The high pressure was consistently good in the second half [this time].”
On his squad: “I found a very strong mentality in the players. It was a group of players that have been through a tough season, ending on a high, those tough moments have pulled them even closer together.”
On pressure at Spurs: “I’m not on social media, I don’t think it does any good to anyone. I read very little in the media. Half of it is … I can’t swear. Half of it is wrong. Half of it is clickbait. I love football but the rest of it, I don’t care.”
On transfers: “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.”
It’s interesting to hear Johnson say that Frank “respects defending” and wants Spurs to be hard to beat, as if that hasn’t always been the case. A sly dig?
Colum says: “Spurs may have floundered with their failed bid for Eze but securing the services of Thomas Frank, an extremely good coach, would appear to be more important. He’s really galvanised the side and the near miss against PSG wasn’t a one-off.”
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Steven writes in: “Have we all underestimated Frank? If I were Levy, I’d apologise for mucking up the Eze transfer and back him. This is some transformation in barely three months. They’re fighting like beavers for every ball and look terrifying on the counter. Outstanding.”
“Also, is this finally the end of Pep’s dynasty?” A week is certainly a long time in football …
The Spurs goalscorers speak to TNT Sports:
Johnson: “To come here, get a clean sheet, score some goals, perfect.” What’s the biggest change under Frank? “Nothing massive. A lot of detail goes into set pieces. He gives us a lot of freedom in attacking areas. He respects defending and wants us to be hard to beat.”
Palhinha: “We deserved the victory. We won with a lot of credit. It’s really important for us to keep this clean sheet.” Why did he join Spurs? “First of all, the coach … the project he has here at Tottenham.”
Spurs keep their second clean sheet of the season, leaving them just four off last season’s tally of six under Postecoglou. Frank goes off to accept the acclaim of the travelling supporters
Full-time: Manchester City 0-2 Tottenham
Spurs fans celebrate the fact they are top of the league after a win that never really looked in doubt in the second half. The introductions of Foden, Silva, Rodri and Doku made little difference to City’s disjointed game as they failed to haul themselves back into the game following Johnson and Palhinha’s first-half goals.
90+2 min: Double save from Trafford! Spurs almost rub City’s noses in it as Solanke’s low shot is denied by the goalkeeper. Trafford also gets to Odobert’s headed rebound. The resultant corner is eventually cleared.
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90 min: Four minutes added on. Even for City, this would be something. And Spurs
89 min: The Etihad is emptying. Spurs fans sing “it’s happened again” with no little glee.
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87 min: Foden’s corner is cleared and Porro sets off down the right. His ball down the line finds Bergvall. A shimmy sees him leave Lewis on the deck but the resulting shot from Odobert is powerful but wide
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85 min: Foden lets fly from the edge of the area. A deflection off Palhinha takes the heat off the shot and Vicario gathers. Doku drives at Porro and wins a corner. Spurs slow the game down again as they replace Kudus with Bergvall
83 min: Aké’s cross finds Silva at the back post. His header is meant for a free Haaland but the ball lands on the roof of the net
82 min: Kudus deploys similar tactics. Drying the ball with a towel, taking a run-up and … taking a short throw
80 min: Porro is booked for taking a little bit too long over a throw-in
78 min: Excellent defending from Van de Ven. Not so much from Porro, who is bypassed by Doku inside the Spurs area. As Foden lines up to strike the cut-back, Van de Ven slides in to block, leaving a bit on Foden
77 min: Richarlison and Johnson leave the field to huge appreciation from the away end. Solanke and Odobert enter the fray
76 min: Immediately the two substitutes combine. Foden’s corner is met by Rodri but his header is straight at Vicario. It’s City’s first shot on target in the second half
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75 min: The City changes are made. Foden and Rodri come on for Bobb and González.
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73 min: Porro sends one in behind the City defence for Sarr to chase. The midfielder misjudges the bounce but so does the onrushing Trafford. Luckily one of his defenders is there to help him out
72 min: Foden and Rodri head back to the bench. Solanke and Odobert are preparing to come on for Spurs
70 min: Richarlison has taken issue with Dias going to ground easily in the box. He and González exchange unpleasantries off the ball and are both booked.
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69 min: Silva’s cross is into a dangerous area and Dias almost gets his head on it. Spurs deal with the subsequent two Reijnders corners
68 min: Romero is booked for a rash tackle – unlike him – on Bobb down City’s right near the edge of the box. Looked like he got the ball, though. Silva will take …
67 min: Silva, as graceful as he is, looks very off the pace. Kudus works hard to dispossess him deep in the Spurs half. He and Richarlison have been full of running
65 min: Spurs with five attempts to City’s one in the second half. Another City attack ends without one as Spence fends off Bobb
63 min: Rodri looks a bit peeved on the sideline, watching the game with a long face rather than doing any sort of strenuous warm-up
61 min: Richarlison gets on to the end of another cross, with another looping header dropping just the wrong side of the far post
60 min: Porro lofts a free-kick into the City box and Richarlison gets his head on it, his looping effort dropping on to the roof of the net. City then struggle again to beat Spurs’ press
58 min: What a waste from Spurs. Silva is caught out by Bentancur and Spurs set off into the City half with a numerical advantage. The ball makes its way to Johnson but his shot from distance hasn’t got enough dip on it. Johnson’s touch then lets him down after Richarlison finds him in space on the edge of the box
56 min: Lewis just about does enough to prevent Richarlison a clear header at the back post
54 min: Guardiola makes his first move. Doku and Silva replace Marmoush and Cherki. Tried and trusted
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53 min: Spurs living dangerously! Vicario’s pass to Van de Ven is wayward in his own box and Bobb wins the ball. Haaland’s cut-back to Cherki is too heavy and eventually the referee blows for a foul. But Van de Ven’s challenge on Bobb looked a bit naughty
50 min: Foden is warming up now too. He shares a word with Solanke, his Under-17 World Cup-winning teammate from 2017, on the touchline
49 min: Stones and Dias keep the ball moving just inside City’s half but they are forced back to Trafford, whose long ball is exactly that – long
47 min: City’s players get on the front foot straight away, Guardiola’s words still ringing in their ears. Lewis finds Aké at the back post but the left-back’s strike is blocked by one of the onrushing Spurs defenders
46 min: Bernardo Silva and Rodri head straight out to warm up
Second half begins: Manchester City 0-2 Tottenham
No changes at the break from either manager. City were out a couple of minutes after Spurs, to very little surprise
Thomas Frank speaks to TV at half-time and says his team need to “keep being brave. The high pressure is key.”
When reminded of the strength of City’s bench, Frank says: “It’s about us, we need to suffer when we need to suffer.”
“Far be it for me to ever critique Pep Guardiola,” ventures John Rudd, “but watching Spurs score two in the first half whilst Ederson, Bernardo, Foden are on the bench is extraordinarily painful! City look out of sorts.” Not to mention Rodri.
Tottenham fans, I’m sure, are currently replaying the last 10 minutes of the Super Cup with PSG in their minds. They were 2-0 there, of course.
Who needs Eze, eh? Frank appears to have got his tactics absolutely spot on. And what else would you expect from a coach who was behind Manchester City’s only home defeat of their treble-winning season in 2022-23
Half-time: Manchester City 0-2 Tottenham
Spurs head into the break firmly in charge. Johnson’s opener was a slick counterattack but Palhinha’s second was a gift. City have it all to do from here
45+6 min: What a chance for Haaland! City enjoy a spell of attacking pressure. Haaland jumps to meet a cross from about six yards out but his header is misdirected and flies over.
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Dear, oh dear. It goes from bad to worse for City. They’ve looked the more dangerous for much of this first half but Spurs have played it perfectly, choosing their moments and pouncing on any mistakes
GOAL! Manchester City 0-2 Tottenham (Palhinha 45+2)
It’s a disaster for City! The corner comes to nothing but Trafford’s goal-kick is pure self-sabotage. He plays it to González inside his own area, who is immediately pounced upon by Richarlison. Trafford comes out to make amends but the ball falls to Palhinha and the midfielder does the rest!
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45 min: Seven minutes are added. Spurs win a corner. They smell blood
43 min: Guardiola leaves his technical area to remonstrate with his players, who are struggling to get a foothold in this since going behind
41 min: After receiving treatment, Porro comes back on. Those were some precarious moments for City. There are questions of handball against Trafford when he came out towards Kudus. Guardiola will be itching for half-time.
39 min: City are really wobbling here. Trafford comes out and clatters Kudus but also gets the ball with his chest. Reijnders then steps on Porro’s boot right on the edge of the area. Nothing given for either challenge but Porro remains down
Spurs took advantage of City’s high line, with Richarlison and Johnson charging in behind. The Brazilian’s low ball across was slightly behind Johnson and Trafford got a touch on the shot but not enough!
GOAL! Manchester City 0-1 Tottenham (Johnson 35)
The goal is given! Replays show Richarlison was onside when the initial ball was played through
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35 min: Spurs have the ball in the net! Sarr flicks the ball on to Richarlison, who races into the City half, cuts it back to Johnson at the back post and the Welshman finishes past Trafford. The flag goes up for the ball to Richarlison but VAR are checking …
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33 min: Johnson picks up the first yellow card of the afternoon. It looked a needless one
32 min: Spurs switch up their approach again and go long towards Johnson. Dias comes across to head the ball out of play. The visitors are keeping City guessing when in possession
30 min: Reijnders takes an almighty risk by letting a long ball bounce on the halfway line with two Spurs players closing him down as last man. The Dutchman manages to hold off a challenge from Kudus, to Guardiola’s relief I’m sure.
28 min: Big chance! Haaland rides a couple of challenges and slips it perfectly through to Marmoush inside the Spurs box. Vicario rushes out and spreads himself to block the shot. That was world class from Haaland
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26 min: Marmoush is also finding space out wide. Cherki pings a pass out to him but his control is poor. Lewis then finds the touchline with a misplaced pass to Bobb. Not vintage stuff
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24 min: Kudus tries to make the most of Aké’s rustiness and finds some space on the Spurs right wing. The cross-field ball is too long though and it runs out for a throw-in
Aït-Nouri goes off injured (22 min)
Left-back is forced to make way on his home debut with what looks like an ankle problem. Aké comes on for his first Premier League action since February
20 min: Aït-Nouri is still hobbling. Aké is being called back to the City bench by coach Kolo Touré. Looks like there will be a change
18 min: Bobb finds Marmoush on the left of the Spurs box. He cuts inside and hits a low drive to Vicario’s right, which the goalkeeper parries. Haaland can’t pick up the rebound. Marmoush is causing Spurs a lot of bother
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16 min: Aït-Nouri goes down and the medical staff are twisting his ankle. He got a ball to the foot from close range after a tussle with Kudus. Aké is warming up but it looks like he’ll be all right to continue …
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14 min: Spurs enjoy some possession in their own half. Then suddenly they turn and go long towards Sarr, but the midfielder gives it up. He was offside anyway
12 min: Marmoush looks dangerous again up against Porro, going by the right-back with ease before having an effort blocked by Vicario at close quarters
11 min: Lewis and Trafford are almost caught out on the edge of the City box but the ball eventually goes behind for a goal-kick. Bit of a nervy start at the back from both teams
10 min: Up the other end, Porro’s header back to Trafford is well short and Marmoush nips in, sliding the ball past the goalkeeper but wide of the far post. Bit of an escape for Spurs
8 min: Porro smacks it into the three-man City wall and fires the rebound into the near side-netting, prompting some misplaced cheers from the away end
7 min: Haaland drops very deep and is put under pressure by Richarlison on the edge of his own box, clipping the Brazilian to give Spurs a free-kick in a dangerous area. Porro will take again …
6 min: The groans continue as Richarlison is hauled down, giving Spurs a free-kick within crossing range of the City box. Porro takes, it’s headed back across the area by Bentancur but Haaland clears
4 min: Rico Lewis bumps into Djed Spence and is penalised inside the Spurs half, to the typical groans of a home crowd who have witnessed perceived injustice
2 min: City set up camp outside the Spurs box, with Cherki trying – and failing – to thread an early ball through to Haaland
Kick-off
Sarr gets us under way as Spurs kick for the corner. Nick the optimistic Spurs fan says: “I don’t dare switch the notifications on.”
I wonder if Kevin De Bruyne is watching today, perhaps from a hotel room in Emilia-Romagna as his Napoli team prepare to kick off their Serie A season at Sassuolo later on. The Belgian scored three and assisted three in his 14 league games against Spurs while at City.
Kick-off is five minutes away at the Etihad!
The managers have been speaking to the TV mics:
Frank says he has “laser focus” on picking his Spurs team today amid the transfer noise surrounding Eze’s move to Arsenal. He is asked about Palhinha, who he says is a “top player” and Richarlison, who he says is a “top striker” – consistent, at least.
Guardiola says it was a “difficult selection” to pick Trafford over Ederson today given that Ederson has given City “massive things” in the last decade. As for Rodri, it will be “step by step” in terms of his re-introduction into the team.
Rúben Dias starts for Manchester City today. He signed a two-year contract extension with the club this week to take his stay through to 2029:
I love Manchester – it is my home now – and I love the Manchester City fans. Their support from day one has been absolutely unbelievable, and I appreciate them a lot. When I think about the trophies we have won and the way we have played our football during my time, I couldn’t imagine playing anywhere else.
This fixture was a sort of nadir (as nadirs go) for Manchester City last season, thumped 4-0 by Ange Postecoglou’s Spurs – it was their fifth defeat in a row and knocked their already faltering title defence even further sideways.
Maddison scored twice for Spurs that afternoon, with further goals for Pedro Porro and Brennan Johnson. Even Timo Werner was enjoying himself. Spurs will have to do without their No 10 today and for the foreseeable future after his anterior cruciate ligament injury over the summer. The same goes for Dejan Kulusevski, who has been ruled out until the new year with a knee injury of his own.
Now, though, City appear to have recovered some of the swagger that has defined them under Guardiola. Their ruthless display against Wolves last weekend, when new signings Cherki and Reijnders opened their accounts for the club, was ominous for their rivals for the Premier League title.
Eze is the elephant in the room as far as Spurs are concerned today. Without the injured James Maddison, their squad is lacking in creativity and you’d imagine they’ll try their luck in the transfer market again before the window shuts.
With Eze on his way to the other side of north London, Frank is keen to recruit players who actually want to play for Spurs:
That’s very clear and I’m also pretty sure that the fans will feel the same. If they [the signings] don’t want to put the fantastic shirt over their head, play for the badge, play for the club, really enjoy it, no problem. We don’t want them. I think that’s a key message.
James Trafford keeps his place for City, then, despite the return of Ederson from injury. Rodri and Phil Foden are only fit enough for a place on the bench after missing the opening win at Wolves. Omar Marmoush and Rayan Cherki replace Bernardo Silva and Jérémy Doku in the lineup.
Thomas Frank sticks to the four-man defence that played against Burnley having deployed three centre-backs in the Super Cup against PSG. Rodrigo Bentancur and João Palhinha come into the midfield for Lucas Bergvall and Archie Gray.
Team news
Guardiola and Frank have played their first cards:
Man City (4-2-3-1): Trafford; Lewis, Stones, Dias, Aït-Nouri; Reijnders, González; Bobb, Cherki, Marmoush; Haaland
Subs: Ederson, Aké, Doku, Rodri, Silva, Nunes, O’Reilly, Khusanov, Foden
Tottenham (4-3-3): Vicario; Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Spence; Sarr, Palhinha, Bentancur; Kudus, Richarlison, Johnson
Subs: Kinsky, Danso, Tel, Gray, Bergvall, Vuskovic, Solanke, Odobert, Davies
Referee: Peter Bankes
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Preamble
Hello and welcome to minute-by-minute coverage of Manchester City v Tottenham in the Premier League. Both teams come into this one off the back of impressive wins in their opening fixtures last weekend – Spurs against Burnley and City at Wolves.
Spurs, though, are somewhat licking their wounds after their move for Crystal Palace’s Eberechi Eze was hijacked by Arsenal, trumping the embarrassment they suffered in their failed pursuit of Morgan Gibbs-White of Nottingham Forest.
Pep Guardiola, meanwhile, is avoiding talk of “revenge” in the buildup to this one. He’ll surely have been studying the tapes of last season’s 4-0 reverse at the hands of today’s opponents. But Spurs, of course, are a very different proposition to last November. Thomas Frank is not Ange Postecoglou, etc.
Feel free to get in touch with your predictions, thoughts and opinions on today’s game – you can do so via this email.
