Tottenham Hotspur plied a perfect tactical plan at the Etihad Stadium, scoring an unexpected but clear 2-0 victory against Manchester City and denying the home team their early-season domination.
The victory elevated Spurs’ spotless record under new manager Thomas Frank to six points from two matches along with no goals conceded.
Both sides began their seasons with strong performances, but City were tipped to take the glory at home. Spurs’ newly adopted sobering stance, however, turned out to be feasible.
The visitors managed to soak up the pressure and then get on the break, a move that succeeded in the first half.
The first goal was scored by Brennan Johnson collecting a pass from Richarlison after the fast break and putting it in the net with his foot.
Spurs made it 2-0 only minutes later when Palhinha took advantage of a mistake by City goalkeeper James Trafford and fired in his first goal for the club.
Though during the second half City tried to get back into the game, Tottenham’s unwavering defense did the trick and held Guardiola’s gifted forward line at arm’s length all the way to the final whistle.
The scoreline is the tenth occasion that Pep has lost against the London club in his managerial career, of which the ‘bogey team‘ storyline has been a recurrent factor and thereby early questions about City’s title ambitions have been raised.
