Man City 0-2 Tottenham: Pep Guardiola comments justified as “the biggest story” of Etihad loss to Spurs highlighted

Pep Guardiola’s new-look Manchester City squad will need time to develop cohesion and supporters must remain calm during the early stages of the new season, Citizens expert Steven McInerney tells Sports Mole.

Pep Guardiola’s new-look Manchester City squad will need time to develop cohesion and supporters must remain calm during the early stages of the new season, Citizens expert Steven McInerney from Esteemed Kompany has told Sports Mole.

After kick-starting the 2025-26 campaign with an eye-catching 4-0 victory at Wolverhampton Wanderers, Man City were brought back down to earth when they suffered a disappointing mistake-strewn 2-0 home defeat to a tremendous Tottenham Hotspur outfit last weekend.

Many Citizens supporters have been left scratching their head wondering where Guardiola’s team are at this moment in time following two contrasting performances and results, but the Catalan coach has stressed that it is too early to judge his side and he has no doubts that they will improve going forward.

“We missed the simple things. I never asked them to play exceptional things,” Guardiola told reporters after the match. “The first was about effort to run and that was extraordinary like it has been for many years.

“I don’t have doubts. Last season, we didn’t achieve but in the training we were really good. In the pressure, we missed simple things and then we create enough chances but it’s happened, it’s football.

“It’s just the second game. Last game against Wolves, everyone said everything it’s fine and I said it’s just one game and a lot is going to happen.

“I know how we are working and what the players are doing. There are many good things but we have to improve. Step by step we will improve and make more connections.”

Calls for calm follow City’s loss to Spurs as new-look team needs time to gel

McInerney is inclined to agree with Guardiola and believes that the “biggest story” of Man City’s loss to Spurs is the fact that a squad comprised of a number of new signings and young players will need time to “find their rhythm and structure”.

James Trafford - who was at fault for the second goal conceded - Rayan Ait-Nouri, Tijjani Reijnders and Rayan Cherki were all handed their home debuts after arriving earlier this summer, while January additions Nico Gonzalez and Omar Marmoush were also named in the starting lineup.

“I actually agree with Guardiola's assessment that the game wasn't as bad as it maybe appeared on the surface of things,” McInerney told Sports Mole. “There was lots to like and there is just lots to work on at the same time.

“Essentially, it boiled down to City not taking their chances while also making a couple of mistakes, and Spurs taking theirs. That's a very simple way of putting it, that's most of football, but it doesn't mean you necessarily played terribly, or it doesn't necessarily mean you aren't moving in the right direction if you have a performance like that, given how early on it is in the season still.

“It’s just the second game, barely any pre-season for Manchester City. A lot of the issues were avoidable that led to City conceding soft goals, incredibly soft goals, and I suspect they'll be fixed. It's just going to be a matter of rhythm and time.

“Whether we can get there, we don't know, but I don't think it's definitely a case of throwing the baby out of the bath wall yet. I think we can be quite calm and just see how this new side develops.

“It was a very new side. There's so many changes to the City side. All the fan favourites were playing. James Trafford, Ait-Nouri - him going off injured definitely did not help City in terms of their rhythm - Cherki, Reijnders, Oscar Bobb, Marmoush, Nico Gonzalez, it was a vastly changed Manchester City side from a year ago.

“That ultimately is going to take its toll on the side. City are going to need a little bit of time to find their rhythm and structure - and to me, that's the biggest story of this game.

“There were mistakes that maybe came as a result of a lack of repetition, lack of time on the training ground. With more practice and more work on the structure, the shape, where people need to be, and hopefully a little bit more sharpness in front of goal, maybe this is a different story.”

“Managers prefer an evolution as opposed to revolution”

Discussing the importance of Guardiola’s side needing to gel in training sessions in the coming weeks, McInerney added: “Absolutely. It's all about that cohesion within the team. If you look at the team from a year ago, it's chalk and cheese. It's so different to where City are right now. They're trying new things with new players and new ideas and so on.

“I think there's a reason why managers prefer an evolution as opposed to revolution, a gentle change, because when you [integrate] this many new players into a side, unless you get very, very lucky, it's going to be very hard to hit the ground running to the extent that Man City are used to, because there's just too many players who are still trying to find themselves in a City shirt.

“It’s all about cohesion” - Man City fans “have to be patient”

“Nico Gonzalez, for example, he started a little bit when he first joined, but then didn't play much. Now he's been entrusted with the number six shirt in Rodri’s absence and he's doing quite well. But he maybe doesn't have the chemistry with Reijnders, who yet doesn't have the chemistry with the full-backs who are going forward either side of him, or with Cherki or [Erling] Haaland, because they're trying to learn each other's rhythms and patterns.

“That is a natural part of how a team develops. Previously, if you had introduced a new signing, you had the structure and the security of Ederson, Dias, De Bruyne, Rodri and Haaland as the spine, with multiple players either side. Kyle Walker was there for years, or [Josko] Gvardiol playing left-back, who you could trust to do the job, because they knew what they were doing and they essentially held the hands of the new players.

“There's none of that now. Everyone's trying to hold each other's hands, but some people don't know where to go yet. That's absolutely fine, it's just makes it difficult to really gauge where the team is at.

“It also makes it difficult to gauge the quality of these players. I think they're good enough, but we just don't know yet. We just don't know yet how they're going to adapt to the Premier League, and it's very hard to judge their individual performances in isolation, knowing there's so many parts around them that aren't moving in sync yet.

“It's all about that cohesion. Until we know that these players have had that chance to play alongside each other, we don't really know where City are at, and I think that's fine. It's early on in the season and we just have to be patient.”

McInerney has also shared his thoughts on the injury picked up by summer signing Ait-Nouri and how his absence might impact Guardiola’s side should he fail to recover in time for Man City’s next Premier League game away against Brighton & Hove Albion on Sunday.

> Click this link to view and listen to the full discussion

No Data Analysis info

Click here to read article