Manchester City falters on an opening weekend while rivals stroll to comfortable wins

Defending Premier League champions Manchester City faltered on the opening day of the 2021-21 league season as they lost to Tottenham 1-0 on Sunday. The big story ahead of the game was the absence of Spurs’ talisman Harry Kane, who has been heavily linked with a move to Manchester City. 

The North London club did exceedingly well even without their main man, defending astutely in the first half of the game, while being threatening on the counter-attack. The lone goal of the match was scored by Spurs’ South Korean forward Son Heung-Min, who was a threat to the City defense throughout the game.

City manager Pep Guardiola was disappointed at the result and felt it was similar to their past encounters with Spurs at the North London club’s stadium. 

“We (City) started really well and after 20 minutes, we allowed them (Tottenham) too much running in the transition, and it’s a team like Nuno did with Wolves. You see the same stats every time we come to Tottenham. We play well every game except the first (Mauricio) Pochettino game (in 2016) at White Hart Lane. It’s difficult to control them because of the transitions,” said Guardiola after the 1-0 defeat. 

City was dominant with possession, but Spurs was equally threatening in the game, using their pace to run havoc on City’s defense. Guardiola will be hoping that his side can bounce back next week when they face newly-promoted Norwich City at home on Saturday. The Manchester City manager will be desperate to get his star-studded attack score goals, and will also hope that City can get a deal to bring Harry Kane over the line. 

City will have to play catch-up with their league rivals as they all got convincing wins to start the season. Manchester United breezed past Leeds United, winning 5-1 at Old Trafford. Paul Pogba and Bruno Fernandes were the stars of the show, dominating the midfield region and putting the Whites to sword time after time. 

Champions League winners Chelsea created a number of chances, while also being superb at the back in their 3-0 win against Crystal Palace at home. The Blues will have the firepower of Romelu Lukaku soon, which will make them an even bigger threat in attack. Liverpool, meanwhile, looked commanding in their 3-0 win over Norwich City on Saturday and will gun for supremacy once again with the return of star defender Virgil van Dijk.