{"id":367519,"date":"2025-08-23T15:18:11","date_gmt":"2025-08-23T15:18:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/367519\/"},"modified":"2025-08-23T15:18:11","modified_gmt":"2025-08-23T15:18:11","slug":"spurs-stun-the-etihad-again-as-johnson-and-palhinha-strikes-sink-manchester-city-premier-league","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/367519\/","title":{"rendered":"Spurs stun the Etihad again as Johnson and Palhinha strikes sink Manchester City | Premier League"},"content":{"rendered":"

How to rally Tottenham after the Eberechi Eze farrago: turn up at Manchester City<\/a> and mastermind a dominant 2-0 triumph that takes your side to the top of the Premier League, for a few hours at least.<\/p>\n

By doing so Thomas Frank issued a fine calling card regarding his professionalism, and suggested his Spurs project will be as strategic as Ange Postecoglou\u2019s was gung-ho. Witnessing how the visitors caused Pep Guardiola\u2019s men headaches all afternoon caused one wag to question if Eze might change his mind (again) about which club to join.<\/p>\n

Spurs missed a number of chances but were far more cutthroat than their hosts, as Brennan Johnson and Jo\u00e3o Palhina\u2019s opening period goals took them back to north London with the points.<\/p>\n

Jo\u00e3o Palhinha is congratulated after making it 2-0 to Spurs just before half-time, the Portuguese midfielder\u2019s first goal for the club. Photograph: Clive Mason\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

City were just not allowed to enjoy any rhythm. Instead they were a discordant bunch who kept finding a Spurs player rushing up to undermine their composure.<\/p>\n

Towards the end, J\u00e9r\u00e9my Doku wriggled through and found his fellow substitute Phil Foden but Micky van de Ven chopped the ball away. Moments after, Bernardo Silva, at a tight angle, headed on to the roof of the net.<\/p>\n

\u201cGood vibes\u201d was Guardiola\u2019s description of the mood as City hoped to banish the spectre of last November\u2019s 4-0 humiliation here by Spurs, though an ill augury came early in a Rico Lewis-James Trafford mix-up. Hesitation between the right-back and the new goalkeeper, preferred to Ederson, allowed Richarlison to pounce. While City escaped, Trafford\u2019s performance was one to watch.<\/p>\n

Before this Pedro Porro committed a howler for the visitors: the right-back\u2019s header back for Guglielmo Vicario was weak, Oscar Marmoush took over and shot, but the Spurs No 1 saved.<\/p>\n

Marmoush was fashioned another opening when Erling Haaland lit up the contest with a bulldozing run that splayed those in black. After a lucky ricochet when challenged, the centre-forward slipped in the Egyptian: he took a glance and unloaded but Vicario repelled.<\/p>\n

Guardiola always enthuses about Frank\u2019s managerial smarts and 35 minutes in the Dane showed how he already has Spurs drilled. Along the right Mohammed Kudus outfoxed R\u00faben Dias and put Richarlison through. The Brazilian ran forward, squared for Johnson, and the No 22 beat Trafford: the shot was close to the keeper but was hit hard so may claim mitigation if Guardiola scolds him about it.<\/p>\n

The flag went up but the semi-automatic offside technology showed Richarlison had been onside. The goal stood, and Spurs\u2019 celebrations were soon to double.<\/p>\n

Now, Trafford\u2019s shakiness came home to roost. The keeper dawdled when playing out from his goal, finally plumping for Nico Gonz\u00e1lez. The No 14 did not want it delivered close to his penalty spot anyway but Trafford passed only to Pape Matar Sarr, the ball went to Richarlison. He tried to shoot but failed, though the excellent Joao Palhinha did, driving the ball home on his full debut.<\/p>\n

City were a mess and Guardiola\u2019s decision to choose Trafford over Ederson cast as quaint, however the Brazilian views his future (he may leave for Galatasaray) \u2013 he is still an employee, after all.<\/p>\n

The disarray of those in blue was summed up by two moments at the other end. Attack is supposed to be their forte. But first Rayan Cherki aped a pub player by hitting the first defender from a corner; then Haaland headed the same player\u2019s delivery to the heavens with Vicario\u2019s goal gaping.<\/p>\n

City\u2019s backline had been disrupted by the 23rd-minute injury to Rayan A\u00eft-Nouri but he was replaced by Nathan Ak\u00e9, a treble-winner, so this offered no mitigation for the first-half horror show.<\/p>\n

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The next time Trafford took the ball with Spurs at close quarters he coolly (and advisedly) launched a 50-yard pass for Marmoush, but the wideman slipped and Guardiola spun away in disgust. The reaction showed how bitty his side\u2019s patterns were. At play in Spurs\u2019 ascendancy was City\u2019s greater ball share (60-40) not transmitting into the relentless pass-and-move of their finest years.<\/p>\n

Pep Guardiola shows his frustration as his side slip to a worrying defeat. Photograph: Darren Staples\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Instead of fluency, Guardiola\u2019s men hoped to prosper on scraps and moments. One came when Vicario did an unwitting impression of Trafford: the keeper passed sideways and near goal to Van de Ven, who must have cursed the Italian as he had Bobb for company. The Norwegian pilfered possession and tapped to Haaland, who passed to Cherki; at close-range the Frenchman went to pull the trigger but Palhinha, Spurs\u2019 star act, snuffed out the danger.<\/p>\n

Guardiola began the day with no Foden, Rodri, Silva, Doku and Ederson (all substitutes), plus Manuel Akanji (left out completely for tactical reasons), yet could still field Haaland, Cherki, Marmoush, Tijjani Reijnders, and Bobb.<\/p>\n

By the 54th-minute Cherki and Marmoush were hooked \u2013 for Silva and Doku \u2013 and still City were amateurish. Example: at a corner the ball popped up sweetly for Rico Lewis to let fly from outside the area \u2013 he did, into the gods.<\/p>\n

In the 74th-minute Foden and Rodri wandered on \u2013 the Spaniard for his first action since being injured in City\u2019s 4-3 Al-Hilal Club World Cup knockout in early July.<\/p>\n

Instantly, Rodri leaped to meet a corner and headed only into Vicario\u2019s gloves.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"How to rally Tottenham after the Eberechi Eze farrago: turn up at Manchester City and mastermind a dominant…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":367520,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[13,12,14],"class_list":{"0":"post-367519","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news","8":"tag-headlines","9":"tag-news","10":"tag-top-stories"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115078752038013221","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/367519","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=367519"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/367519\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/367520"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=367519"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=367519"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=367519"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}