Tottenham stunned Manchester City once again at the Etihad, striking twice in the first half to secure a 2-0 victory and make it two wins from two under Thomas Frank. Find all the Opta data from the game with our Man City vs Tottenham stats page.
One of Thomas Frank’s greatest assets as a coach is his adaptability. Tottenham have showed it already this season, shifting from a back five in the UEFA Super Cup against PSG – where they played direct and without much of the ball – to a flat back four in their Premier League opener against Burnley, where they dominated possession and ran out 3-0 winners.
Perhaps that’s why it was a little surprising to see Frank set Spurs up with a back four away at Manchester City, but for the vast majority of the game at the Etihad, they looked supremely comfortable.
Their flexibility under Frank was summed up in their opening goal. Comfortable enough to build from the back for much of the first half, they instead went direct on this occasion. A long ball forward was flicked on by Pape Sarr into Richarlison, who squared for Brennan Johnson to slide home. Tottenham have now scored the first goal in each of their last five Premier League trips to the Etihad, winning two of the previous four (D1 L1).
Their chances of adding another victory increased dramatically on the stroke of half-time. A calamitous sequence from a City goal-kick saw James Trafford delay far too long before passing a short ball into Nico González, who was dispossessed by the ever-influential Sarr. Joao Palhinha pounced on the loose ball to fire Spurs into a two-goal lead.
In doing so, Spurs became the first side to score 2+ goals in five consecutive top-flight away games against City since Sunderland (1980–2000).
It was also only the sixth time under Pep Guardiola that City have trailed a Premier League home game by two or more goals at half-time, with Spurs now responsible for half of those occasions (3/6), including three of the last four (January 2023 and November 2024).
In a subdued first 45 minutes for City, Omar Marmoush was the one player who threatened to break the game open. Lively and direct on the left, he stood out as City’s most dangerous attacker. His best chance came in the 28th minute, when Erling Haaland powered through midfield and split the Spurs defence to release the Egyptian, only for Vicario to spread himself well to make the save. Marmoush ended the half with three of City’s four shots.
Despite City seeing much of the ball after the break, Spurs were comfortable without it. Djed Spence and Porro handled the wide threat with assurance, while Palhinha was combative in front of the back four, putting in the tackles and blocks that have quickly become his trademark. He finished with more tackles (4) and duels won (8) than any other Spurs player.
It was Tottenham, in fact, who looked the more likely to extend their lead. Richarlison remained lively in the City box, particularly from crosses, while Guardiola’s side struggled to fashion anything of note. Their second-half attacking output is summed up by the expect goals race chart: basically flat.
Not even the introduction of Rodri could spark them into life. The Spaniard’s header from a corner in the 76th minute was City’s first shot on target since Marmoush’s effort in the 28th minute. In total, Guardiola’s side managed just five efforts after the interval.
Spurs were by far the more deserving winners. Their organisation and work rate off the ball was impressive and they took their chances ruthlessly in the first half. Frank will take particular satisfaction from the control his side exerted in both phases of the game.
Spurs have now won their opening two matches of a Premier League campaign for the first time since 2021-22, which was also the last time a Spurs manager began his tenure with back-to-back victories (Nuno Espírito Santo).
For Guardiola, it was another bruising evening against a familiar foe. This was his 10th career defeat to Tottenham – the joint-most he has suffered against any opponent, level with Liverpool.
Our Opta match centre delivers you all the Man City vs Tottenham stats from their Premier League meeting at the Etihad Stadium.
The match centre below includes team and player stats, expected goals data, passing networks, an Opta chalkboard and more. It gives you everything you need to do your own match analysis.
Underneath the match centre you can find the official Opta stats on the game as well.
Man City vs Tottenham: Post-Match Opta Facts
Tottenham Hotspur are only the second side to win away to a Pep Guardiola managed team in back-to-back league seasons, after Manchester United, who achieved the feat in 2019-20/2020-21.
For only the third time in his managerial career, Manchester City’s Pep Guardiola has lost his opening home league game of a season, after 2010-11 with Barcelona (v Hércules) and 2020-21 with Man City (v Leicester).
Having also won with Brentford in November 2022, Tottenham’s Thomas Frank became only the third manager to beat Pep Guardiola away from home in the league with two different clubs, after José Mourinho (Real Madrid & Man Utd) and Antonio Conte (Chelsea & Tottenham).
With six points and a goal difference of +5, this is Tottenham’s best start in their opening two games of a league season when taking both into account since 2014-15 (also 6 points and +5 GD).
Tottenham were the first side ever to score the first goal in five consecutive Premier League away games at the Etihad, and only the second to do so away to Manchester City at all in the competition, after Blackburn from 1993 to 2002.