TBR Football

Tottenham Hotspur emerged victorious as they beat Manchester City in the Premier League, with Thomas Frank in dreamland as Spurs boss.

Tottenham beat Manchester City 2-0 on Saturday afternoon in what was a dominant display from Spurs. Thomas Frank had a game plan which he stuck to, and he has his players to thank.

Joao Palhinha was excellent, Richarlison was a workhorse, and Micky van de Ven was a wall. Great performance from the Spurs lot.

But one player who did go under the radar was Pape Matar Sarr. He is quite simply ‘sensational.’

Pape Matar Sarr was superb against Manchester City

The Senegal star was mega against Manchester City and is becoming an integral part of Frank’s side.

He was absolutely everywhere, and his work on and off the ball, particularly in the press, is proving a major catalyst in Tottenham’s successes.

Ally McCoist couldn’t stop raving about him on co-commentary. He called him “sensational” as he awarded him the man of the match award.

His fine display was reflected in some nice stats for the 22-year-old:

Pape Matar Sarr can do it all for Tottenham

He’s quickly proving the theory wrong that Spurs need a creative midfielder. The failed Morgan Gibbs pursuit was one that hit Spurs fans hard, then it was Eberechi Eze, but thus far, when playing in the ten, Sarr and Tottenham have been excellent.

That isn’t to say Spurs shouldn’t fork out for a creator. But right now, the system is evidently working.

A new signing would mean that Frank can switch it up in games and utilise Sarr in other areas. But right now? Spurs shouldn’t change a thing!

Tottenham Hotspur have put their transfer frustrations out of mind over the last week and have started the 2025-26 Premier League campaign with two wins from two under Thomas Frank.

Spurs recorded an impressive 2-0 Premier League win over Manchester City on Saturday afternoon, with goals from Brennan Johnson and Joao Palhinha proving the difference for the North London side.

However, with Tottenham lacking creative options in attacking midfield due to injuries to Dejan Kulusevski and James Maddison, the addition of a new playmaker will be in the North London club’s sights before the transfer window closes.

Tottenham missed out on Eberechi Eze and Morgan Gibbs-White over the course of the summer, but they reportedly have their eye on a Serie A ace.

Tottenham bid for Nico Paz rejected by Como

Transfer journalist Nico Schira has stated on X that Tottenham have had an offer of €45 million (£39 million) for Nico Paz rejected by Como.

The reporter suggests Como manager Cesc Fabregas does not want to sell the 20-year-old Spanish midfielder and considers him ‘untouchable’ as the window comes to a close.

He also adds that Tottenham are preparing a new offer for Paz, who starred for the modest Italian side last season by scoring six goals and laying on eight assists.

However, any potential deal for Paz is complicated by the fact former employers Real Madrid are due 50 per cent of any future transfer fee.

TBR Football reported in February that Tottenham scouts were impressed by Paz and the club were considering him as a future transfer target.

Arsenal hero blocking Tottenham transfer attempts

After losing out on Eze to their bitter rivals, Tottenham fans will be frustrated to hear it is Fabregas who is blocking their latest attempts to add creativity to Frank’s squad.

The former Spanish midfielder spent eight years with the Gunners and was a source of pain for Spurs during that time.

For Tottenham, a deal for Paz seems unlikely, especially given Fabregas’ mentality and Como’s requirement to give half of any fee to Madrid.

While Spurs will be getting increasingly desperate to add a playmaker to their squad as the end of the transfer window approaches, identifying and pursuing other targets may well be a better strategy for the North London club.

Tottenham fans are calling for signings with just over a week until the transfer deadline, but the 2-0 win over Manchester City proved Thomas Frank already has plenty of talented players.

The likes of Mohammed Kudus – who impressed Spurs fans – and Pape Sarr stood out as Tottenham once again tasted victory at the Etihad Stadium.

Thomas Frank also had plenty of praise to aim at Joao Palhinha before and after the impressive win, and Tottenham have a real opportunity on their hands with the Portugal international.

Thomas Frank says Joao Palhinha is a “top player”

Speaking before the 2-0 win, the Dane told TNT Sports: “Palhinha, I think, is a top player. I’m very happy that we signed him.

“His defensive mindset and abilities to win 50/50 duels, but also to progress up the pitch with possession will be key.”

Palhinha then proceeded to deliver a Man of the Match display – earning the highest rating on Sofascore (8.4) of any player on the pitch.

The new Tottenham No.6 – on loan from Bayern Munich for the season – scored the second for Spurs, also completing 21 of his attempted 26 passes and winning six ground duels in his 89 minutes on the pitch.

After watching this heroic display, Frank said: “What is 100% sure is that we brought in two top players into the club – Kudus and Palhinha. Both of them performed very well, which I’m very pleased with. Palhinha, wow!

“Sometimes players need confidence to be on top. I still don’t think he’s fully fit yet, where I want him to be. But, very pleased with his performance and he’s definitely helping the team.”

Tottenham can sign Joao Palhinha on a permanent basis for just £27m

Spurs smartly negotiated an option to buy Palhinha permanently for £27m once his loan spell expires at the end of the season, and that fee is already starting to look like it could be a bargain.

The man born in Lisbon is now admittedly into his thirties – having turned 30 in July – although he should still prove to be good value for money if that clause is triggered, as his best traits are not exactly dependent on speed.

Palhinha – considered one of the best in the world during his time at Fulham – instead uses his experience and footballing intelligence to be one step ahead of his opponents.

Having an impactful No.6 at the base of midfield is very important in the modern era, a point emphasised by the fact Chelsea spent £115m to sign Moises Caicedo – while Arsenal paid £60m for Martin Zubimendi.

It is worth remembering Bayern Munich also paid £47m to take Palhinha from Fulham as recently as last summer, so £27m for his signature could prove to be superb business.

Thomas Frank was full of praise for one Manchester City man despite Tottenham Hotspur picking apart the Cityzens at the Etihad.

Tottenham are in dreamland currently, and so is Thomas Frank. Spurs’ new manager made it two wins on the bounce for his side.

Mohammed Kudus was excellent, Richarlison was a workhorse, and Joao Palhinha excelled. Happy days for Spurs, who went top of the league.

That said, the ever-humble Frank was quick to hail his “unbelievable” opponent in defeat.

Thomas Frank lauds Pep Guardiola

Speaking post-match to Sky Sports, Frank praised the Manchester City boss, Pep Guardiola.

The win for the Danish manager against the Cityzens also put him in elite company. Frank became only the second manager, alongside Antonio Conte, to win away at Man City with two different Premier League clubs.

When asked by Sky Sports: “Thomas, you’re only the second manager to come here with two different clubs in the Premier League and get a win away at Man City, joining Antonio Conte against Pep Guardiola. How proud does that make you on a personal level, that achievement?”

Frank responded: “First and foremost, Pep is – I’ve said it before – an unbelievable manager. He’s someone I’ve looked up to for many, many years, studied and followed in detail.

“The other manager, Conte, is also someone I’ve studied for many years. So it’s two of the big boys.”

Thomas Frank sets records in Man City clash

The victory didn’t just earn him esteemed company; it also ended several Premier League feats:

Phenomenal from Frank, and now Spurs can really kick on this season. After a dismal campaign under Ange Postecoglou, Tottenham are proving they can deliver in the Premier League.

Where they finish the season remains to be seen, but there’s no denying that Frank has come in all guns blazing, making a statement with a win away against the Cityzens. What a start.

Tottenham Hotspur continued their incredible start to the season by beating Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium.

Spurs looked impressive when they smashed Burnley in their opening game, but nobody really gave them much credit because the Clarets weren’t great.

On Saturday, however, everyone should be praising Thomas Frank and Tottenham because they were fantastic against Manchester City.

One player, in particular, impressed the new Spurs boss.

Thomas Frank wowed by Joao Palhinha’s performance

Tottenham signed Joao Palhinha on loan from Bayern Munich earlier this summer.

The Portugal international was outstanding during his time at Fulham in the Premier League, but his move to Germany didn’t quite work out.

Spurs spotted an opportunity to bring him in, and he was one of the best players on the pitch against Manchester City on Saturday.

Palhinha wasn’t just incredible off the ball, but he also managed to score his first goal for Tottenham. That doubled Spurs’ lead just before half-time, which gave them a huge advantage.

Frank was very happy with Palhinha’s display, but what makes it even more impressive is the fact that he isn’t even fully fit yet.

Speaking about his new signings after the game, the Tottenham boss said, as relayed on HaytersTV: “What is 100 per cent sure is that we brought in two top players into the club – Kudus and Palhinha. Both of them performed very well, which I’m very pleased with.

“Palhinha, wow! Sometimes players need confidence to be on top.

“I still don’t think he’s fully fit yet, where I want him to be. But, very pleased with his performance and he’s definitely helping the team.”

Joao Palhinha’s stats vs Manchester City

Spurs fans should be very impressed with Palhinha’s performance.

Everybody knew his quality, but after an underwhelming spell at Bayern, there were a few question marks over whether he could be as good as he was during his Fulham days.

Those worries have been put to bed as Palhinha is still brilliant.

In his 89 minutes on the pitch against Manchester City, Palhinha had 40 touches of the ball and completed 21 of his 26 attempted passes.

He also made four tackles, two clearances and blocked a shot while winning 100 per cent of his aerial duels against Pep Guardiola’s men.

Tottenham Hotspur have beaten Manchester City 2-0 in the Premier League.

Spurs have a very good record against the Sky Blues, but Pep Guardiola’s side were still viewed as the favourites going into the game.

However, Thomas Frank, who Tottenham fans are raving about, outclassed the Manchester City boss and picked up a deserved win.

Micah Richards, who supports City, watched the game closely, and he was blown away by what the new Spurs boss did at the Etihad.

Micah Richards hails Thomas Frank’s ‘masterstroke’ after Tottenham beat Manchester City

There were a few doubts about Thomas Frank when he was given the Tottenham job.

The Dane is an incredible manager; that was never a debate. But whether he was the right choice for a high-pressure job like the one at Spurs was the big question.

So far, Frank is proving to be the perfect choice for Tottenham.

The North Londoners smashed Burnley 4-0 in their opening Premier League game despite Frank starting youngsters Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall in midfield.

Against Manchester City on Sunday, the 51-year-old brought in Joao Palhinha and Rodrigo Bentancur, and Richards has branded those two changes as a ‘masterstroke’.

Speaking on BBC Sport, the former City defender said: “I thought Spurs were absolutely excellent.

“The way the head coach has been able to adapt so early in his tenure – sometimes using a back four and sometimes a five. Even bringing in Palhinha and Rodrigo Bentancur today. That was a masterstroke.

“Thomas Frank has brought a know-how of how to see games out. They fully deserved to win today.”

Joao Palhinha could be the most underrated signing of the summer

Tottenham secured the services of Palinha without making too much noise.

The Portuguese midfielder is very experienced, knows the Premier League really well and breaks play up better than most players in his position.

He is a tailor-made fit for Frank’s system – he showed that with a Man of the Match display against Manchester City at the Etihad.

The performance has made Tottenham fans very happy, but what will excite them even more is that Palhinha produced that display without being fully fit.

That means he will be even better once he reaches his best level in the coming weeks.

After Tottenham beat Manchester City in the Premier League, former Chelsea winger Joe Cole has claimed they will withdraw from their interest in Savinho.

Spurs are looking for a marquee signing late in the transfer window but have been knocked back in their attempts to sign Eberechi Eze from Crystal Palace when Arsenal swooped in to steal his signature.

Savinho has emerged as a target for Thomas Frank’s side, although City are reluctant to lose the Brazilian. After missing out on Eze, however, Spurs may ramp up their pursuit of Savinho – who Pep Guardiola says is currently injured.

So there was a degree of irony in Tottenham’s impressive win at City on Saturday with Brennan Johnson and Joao Palhinha scoring, with good performances from Mohamed Kudus and Pape Sarr in attack.

Joe Cole delivers Savinho transfer verdict with a week to go in the transfer window

Tottenham will rightly earn praise from their dominant win at City, with early talk after the match suggesting that maybe they do not need a new attacker as much as they thought.

Speaking on TNT Sports, pundit Joe Cole even said that Spurs will walk away from their interest in Savinho such was the nature of their attacking performance at the Etihad Stadium.

“I can’t see there being much, much more happening. I think Daniel Levy is in a great position,” Cole said. “He hasn’t spent a lot of money, but he seems to have got two great results with the squad moving.

“After today, I think the Savinho deal is less likely. It could possibly happen, but it depends – because we don’t know what’s happening with Financial Fair Play.”

Joe Cole backs Tottenham to change approach in the transfer market

After seeing Tottenham score five goals without conceding in their opening two games of the season under Thomas Frank, Joe Cole suggested that they only need to look to the future if they decide to do business in the final week of the transfer window.

He said: “I don’t think he’ll go and get someone who’s already of age and ready to go. I think there’ll be a few young players coming in to bolster the squad.

“We also don’t know the needs of certain buying and selling clubs in terms of what they have to do. But as you can see there, Daniel Levy will be saying, “I’m pretty set with what I’ve got, maybe just one young player.”

Although Spurs lost captain Heung-min Son this summer, they have added Mohamed Kudus, while they made the loan signings of Mathys Tel and Kevin Danso permanent.

Before Tottenham defeated Manchester City 2-0 on Saturday, there was widespread disappointment in N17 after Arsenal hijacked a deal to sign Eberechi Eze.

Spurs are now on the lookout for a different source of creativity, with sources informing TBR Football that Tottenham have asked about Bilal El Khannouss of Leicester.

While the failure to sign Eberechi Eze might be seen as a mistake by Daniel Levy amongst Tottenham fans, it was a transfer blunder from Manchester City which benefitted Spurs at the Etihad Stadium as Pedro Porro shone.

Pedro Porro shows Manchester City what they could have had

You may not know that Manchester City actually once had the Tottenham No.23 on their books.

The Citizens signed Porro from Girona for £11m back in August 2019 before loaning the Spaniard to Real Valladolid and then Sporting CP.

Manchester City eventually sold the right-back to Sporting CP in June 2022 for a loss at £7m, without ever handing the defender an appearance.

As Pep Guardiola now finds himself on the hunt for a new right-back following the decline of Kyle Walker, Porro showed he is exactly what Manchester City need.

How Pedro Porro and Rico Lewis compared statistically during Manchester City 0-2 Tottenham

If he was being honest, Guardiola would surely say he’d rather have had Porro at right-back over Rico Lewis on Saturday.

The England international struggled, winning just two out of seven ground duels and no aerial duels, while also strangely displaying an uncharacteristic sloppiness in possession, misplacing or overhitting several passes.

Lewis – who Nottingham Forest want to sign – also failed to complete a cross, as Sofascore show.

With regard to Porro – one of the most direct players in the Premier League – the man born in Don Benito completed two crosses and recorded two key passes, also helping Tottenham defensively with five clearances and one tackle.

Tottenham did admittedly spend £39m to sign Porro from Sporting CP back in January 2023, but that is a fee Manchester City would surely be happy to spend to solve their right-back problem at this moment in time.

James Trafford endured a nightmare home debut in Manchester City’s defeat to Tottenham Hotspur, as Pep Guardiola’s goalkeeping dilemma took an unexpected turn.

Trafford re-signed for City this summer and has started the campaign ahead of Ederson, who was unavailable in the opening day win over Wolves through illness. Ederson has been strongly linked with an Etihad Stadium exit, with Galatasaray interested in the Brazilian.

And with Stefan Ortega also touted to leave City, the Blues have shown an interest in Paris Saint-Germain stopper Gianluigi Donnarumma this summer.

Trafford has the starting spot for now, but he was fortunate not to give away a penalty against Spurs and then gifted possession to Richarlison in his own box before Joao Palhinha scored in a huge error.

Man City fans fume at James Trafford as Ederson watches blunder from bench

After Trafford’s nightmare first half against Tottenham, the TV cameras panned to Ederson on the bench, who could barely hide his emotions. Looking stone-faced, Ederson was clearly furious at Trafford passing straight to Nico Gonzalez in his own area with Richarlison marking him.

On X, user @Blueline_Hub wrote: “Ederson was absolutely disgusted by the error from Trafford.” While Chris North posted: “Never understood the plaudits & price tags for James Trafford. Bang average & not as good as Ederson, making City’s defence very nervous.”

Another City fan, Max Elmer, said: “Ederson should always be in goal so long as he’s at City. We can’t survive Pep’s playstyle with a goalie who doesn’t know how to play with his feet.”

Ederson’s future remains uncertain, but fans were keen to stress that he remains perfect for Pep Guardiola’s demands of his goalkeeper. For example, @sammypedro said: “All you all clamouring for Ederson to leave, I hope y’all can see the difference.”

James Trafford error could impact Man City interest in Gianluigi Donnarumma

Fans were also making the point that any potential move for Gianluigi Donnarumma wouldn’t necessarily eradicate errors like the one against Spurs, given he is not particularly renowned for playing the ball at his feet.

Joe Butterfield wrote: “If you think that was stinky play from the back from Trafford then do I have some bad news for you about Donnarumma.” Sky Blu Ian added: “I didn’t see any instance where Donnarumma would have done anything better than Trafford.”

However, other fans felt that Trafford’s error could see City accelerate a move for Donnarumma, especially if Ederson leaves. @citehxen said: “I do feel for Trafford. Must be unreal pressure. He’ll learn and get better. But right now we need the real deal. Cough cough Donnarumma.”

And @talkincity said: “To the people that DON’T want us to sign Donnarumma, what do you want? Trafford starting? Ederson starting?” Daniel Cause said: “James Trafford looking like he’s gonna be benched for Donnarumma pretty soon.”

Tottenham Hotspur have picked up yet another victory against Manchester City in the Premier League.

Pep Guardiola’s side are usually the team everyone fears, but Spurs have managed to get some big wins over them in recent years.

On Saturday, Tottenham did it again, thanks to goals from Brennan Johnson and Joao Palhinha, and that takes them to the top of the Premier League table.

Thomas Frank is proving to be a huge upgrade on Ange Postecoglou, and Spurs fans are loving the way he is managing their side.

Tottenham boss Thomas Frank joins Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte in elite list

Guardiola, in many people’s eyes, is the greatest manager football has ever seen.

The Spaniard built one of the greatest sides of all time at Barcelona, and he has achieved immense success at Bayern Munich and Manchester City since.

It is not often that other managers get the better of Guardiola, but some big names have on multiple occasions in the past.

Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte, who are both former Spurs bosses, were the only managers in history to beat Guardiola away from home with two different teams.

The Special One did it with Real Madrid in 2012 and Manchester United in 2018, while Conte managed to do it with Chelsea and Tottenham in 2016 and 2022, respectively.

Now, following Tottenham’s 2-0 win against City, Thomas Frank has joined that elite list, having also beaten Guardiola’s side at the Etihad in November 2022 when he was the Brentford boss.

Daniel Levy may have made one right decision at Tottenham

Daniel Levy comes under a lot of criticism from Tottenham fans.

The Spurs chairman has made plenty of mistakes over the years, the latest of which was missing out on Eberechi Eze to Arsenal just a few days ago.

Tottenham supporters started chanting ‘we want Levy out’ at the start of the game at the Etihad today as well, but they must all admit that he has got one decision right.

Levy controversially sacked Ange Postecoglou and appointed Frank as his replacement, and that looks like a fantastic decision.

Now, Levy has to back Frank in the final days of the window and get him the players he needs.