Manchester City boss, Pep Guardiola, has explained why his side fell 2-0 to Tottenham Hotspur at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday, admitting that his players struggled with “the simple things.”
Speaking after the defeat, Guardiola pointed to his team’s inability to handle Spurs’ pressing and marking after going behind to Brennan Johnson’s opener.
“We start well. We concede a goal that could happen. The simple things, we miss the simple things with the ball,” Guardiola told TNT Sports.
“We lost with the quality we have, individually, the simple things with the ball, we miss it. That is why in transitions, and of course, they scored the second at the end of the first half, it was difficult.
“We had chance,s but we didn’t react well with the marking and the pressing. We knew it. Because Thomas does it and it happens.”
Tottenham manager Thomas Frank, on the other hand, praised his players for an “extraordinary” performance that secured all three points thanks to goals from Johnson and João Palhinha.
Reflecting on the match, Frank admitted City edged the first half but insisted Spurs raised their level after the break.
“The first 45 minutes were fairly even, with City a bit on top of us. We scored a great goal. Second half I think we were very good,” Frank said.
“I’m proud of my players, the performance. I think it was extraordinary. We know it’s always difficult to play at the Etihad.”
The win leaves Spurs second on the Premier League table with six points from two games, while Guardiola’s side are currently fifth on the log.
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