TBR Football

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.

Tottenham continued their perfect start to the 2025/26 campaign with an impressive 2-0 win over Manchester City, in which Mohammed Kudus shone.

The £55m signing from West Ham helped Thomas Frank take the game to Pep Guardiola, playing a key role in driving Tottenham up the pitch with his close control and daring runs.

Mohammed Kudus was so impressive at the Etihad Stadium, that some Tottenham fans even brought a club legend in Heung-min Son into the conversation.

Tottenham fans hail Mohammed Kudus after win over Manchester City

One Tottenham fan was genuinely left stunned by how well the Ghana international performed against Manchester City, as another admitted they have not been this excited about a signing since Heung-min Son arrived from Bayer Leverkusen back in August 2015.

A post on X (previously known as Twitter) read: “I actually can’t believe how good Kudus is, haven’t been moved by a new player like this for years.”

The second Tottenham fan added: “Haven’t felt like this watching a new signing since Sonny.”

Son scored 173 goals in 454 appearances for Spurs, captaining the north Londoners to the UEFA Europa League in his final competitive outing, so it speaks volumes that Kudus is already earning comparisons to a cult hero in N17.

Roy Keane actually questioned the signing of Kudus – calling it a “strange” deal.

A third Tottenham fan simply used the word “obscene” to describe what they were seeing from the Ghanaian.

Another highlighted the many impressive aspects of the 25-year-old’s game, posting: “Can hold up play in a low block and get past players with ease when we’re high up. He’s literally the DREAM.”

Furthermore, a fifth Spurs supporter opted to praise the man born in Accra for his work off the ball, writing: “Kudus out of possession does exactly what fans want to see. Never gives up, anticipates the play superbly and isn’t afraid to throw himself around when needed.”

Mohammed Kudus proved he was worth every penny of £55m fee with stunning display against Manchester City

£55m may have seemed like a lot for a player who scored just five goals in 32 Premier League appearances last season, but Kudus – who has struggled in training against Djed Spence – showed exactly why Tottenham paid such a fee by tearing Manchester City apart.

Sofascore shows that the Tottenham No.20 completed three successful dribbles against the Citizens, and also made three tackles as he helped Pedro Porro admirably when tracking back.

Kudus also kept possession well for Spurs by completing 14 of his 17 passes – a success rate of 82% – with one cross being delivered by the mercurial winger as well.

In terms of what you need your forward to do away to a side like Manchester City, Kudus ticked every single box for Frank – who will undoubtedly be delighted by what he saw.

Rayan Cherki made his first start for Manchester City as they took on Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League, and fans have reacted to the Frenchman’s performance.

Not a good day to be a Manchester City fan. Thomas Frank picked apart Pep Guardiola’s side in their own backyard.

Goals from Brennan Johnson and Joao Palhinha gave Spurs their second win of the season, in what was a statement performance.

City, on the other hand, will want to forget about this one. As will new signing Rayan Cherki, whose poor performance was widely noted by fans.

Fans react to Rayan Cherki for Manchester City vs Tottenham

The former Lyon man was not at his best against Spurs, prompting plenty of reaction on X. Many fans suggested he doesn’t look suited to the Premier League.

One supporter wrote: “Cherki is not that good. When he’s far from the final third he’s so unathletic and easy to press. Sarr is literally eating him alive.”

Another fan added: “Shock – Cherki looks terrible when he’s not coming on against tired defenders in the 77th minute.”

Others were equally unimpressed. One claimed: “Cherki ain’t made for the Prem. Needs to get used to the speed of the game, keeps losing it on the edge of the box.”

Another wrote: “Invisible first half from Cherki. We’ll see more performances like this when he starts. He’s not built for this league.”

The criticism kept coming, with one supporter describing it as an “embarrassingly bad half,” before adding: “City fans will have you think he’s Messi levels.”

Another questioned his attitude, saying: “Cherki’s mentality has to be questioned. Pep has had to tell him off before for lack of work rate. Today he got to play centrally and completely flopped. Was lazy in finding space, didn’t demand the ball with any real vigour. Stinker & hooked, as they say.”

Cherki can’t be judged for Manchester City yet

The Frenchman didn’t have his finest performance, granted – but it was his first start, and only his second game.

Cherki possesses undeniable talent, and Pep Guardiola wouldn’t have signed him if he didn’t believe in his ability.

He’s already proven against the likes of Manchester United in the Europa League with Lyon that he can perform against English sides – so he deserves time.

Tottenham Hotspur have picked up a fantastic victory over Manchester City in the Premier League.

The mood around Spurs has not been great in recent days. Arsenal hijacked their move for Eberechi Eze, and that angered many supporters.

The last team you would want to face when you’re in a bad mood is Manchester City, but Spurs produced a brilliant performance at the Etihad.

Brennan Johnson opened the scoring in the 35th minute before Joao Palhinha doubled the lead in first-half stoppage time.

Spurs supporters absolutely loved what they saw in the first half, and they’ve all been heaping praise on their new manager, Thomas Frank.

Tottenham fans think Thomas Frank is a big upgrade on Ange Postecoglou

Tottenham fans were divided when Daniel Levy sacked Ange Postecoglou just 16 days after he helped them win the Europa League title.

Many felt that it was harsh and that the Australian deserved another season, but that noise has disappeared now.

Spurs supporters are fully behind Frank and think he’s an upgrade on Postecoglou.

One Tottenham fan tweeted: “Thomas Frank is better than Ange. I’ve seen enough.”

Another wrote: “We look like a much better side in comparison to Ange’s side with arguably a worse team. We actually look okay defensively.”

“Long way to go, but this is night and day with Ange, we look properly set up. Proper solid performance,” said another.

Another Spurs supporter wrote: “Spurs look so much better this season, man. Ange had to go for real!”

“I feel so much safer with this structure than Ange’s,” tweeted another.

Tottenham fans shouldn’t get too excited about Thomas Frank just yet

Frank is doing a great job and deserves all the praise in the world.

The Dane’s pragmatic approach and structured setup make him a much more difficult side to beat than Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham were, and we do think he is an upgrade.

However, Spurs fans must remember that Postecoglou also started off brilliantly. They were unbeaten in their first 10 Premier League games of the season and looked incredible.

Things fell apart soon after, so the supporters must not get too excited just yet.

TBR Football understands that Everton have won the race for Tyler Dibling, but Tottenham Hotspur, Crystal Palace and RB Leipzig did make a late push.

TBR Football can reveal that Tyler Dibling shunned possible interest from Tottenham and RB Leipzig, and also a late approach from Crystal Palace.

The 19-year-old has been a target for Everton for the last few weeks, with David Moyes pushing hard to land him.

Moyes played a major part in persuading Dibling that a move to Everton was the right move for him, and the teenager made it clear in recent days that a move to Merseyside was his preferred option.

Sources: Tyler Dibling chooses Everton over Tottenham and Crystal Palace

TBR Football can reveal that amid Everton winning the race for Dibling, Tottenham Hotspur and Crystal Palace also made approaches, alongside Bundesliga side RB Leipzig.

Graeme Bailey, chief correspondent for TBR Football, confirms this. He says: “Everton have agreed a deal worth £42million with £6million of that made up in add-ons.

“There was some interest in recent days from Spurs and Leipzig, more enquiries but we can confirm that Crystal Palace made a real push for him as they looked for options to replace Eberechi Eze.

“But Dibling made it clear that he wants to move Everton.”

Everton move a good one for Dibling

Dibling, as a young player, needs consistent game time to flourish, which he will get at Everton.

Everton looked weak in attack against Leeds United in their Premier League opener, so the introduction of a pacey, dynamic winger will be vital to their season.

To have the player wanting to play for the Toffees also can’t be underestimated. Tottenham and Palace are desirable locations, and Leipzig, so David Moyes has a player who genuinely wants to be there.