Spurs stay perfect on a day to forget for City
Tottenham Hotspur maintained its winning start to the Premier League season with a superb 2-0 victory over Manchester City.
First-half strikes from Brennan Johnson and Joao Palhinha proved decisive at Etihad Stadium, as Spurs made it two league wins from two under manager Thomas Frank.
Johnson capped a slick move to break the deadlock, firing home from Richarlison's cross, with the goal given after a video assistant referee (VAR) review overturned an offside call.
James Trafford then got himself in hot water just before the break, with Palhinha on the spot to double Spurs' lead.
Pep Guardiola's below-par side, which put four past Wolverhampton Wanderers last week, could not find a response, going closest to doing so when Rodri headed straight at Guglielmo Vicario in the 76th minute, although that was one of only two shots it got on target in the second half.
Trafford atoned somewhat for his earlier mistake with an impressive double save to deny Spurs a third goal late on, but it was a day to forget for Guardiola.
Guardiola did not feel the scoreline fully told the tale of the match and said his side had no reason to panic about the scoreline and the result.
"I had the feeling [the performance] was a little bit better than the result," he said. "We started well. We conceded a goal that can happen, but we missed the simple things with the ball."
He added: "The result is not good, but it is a long, long way [in the season]. We will learn from that."
Guardiola defended his decision to pick goalkeeper Trafford, highlighting his strong performance against Wolves.
According to the City boss, neither the Wolves win nor the Spurs defeat should be given too great a significance at this early stage as a number of new signings, including Trafford, find their feet.
"It's just the second game," he said. "The last game, against Wolves, the people said everything is fine, but it's just the first game, many things are going to happen. It's the same now.
"I know the way we're working, what the players are doing, the many good things I have. Of course we have to improve, but I said against Wolves the same in the second half: we have to improve.
"It's step by step until we click. The connections in many things are new."
