Manchester City undid all of their good work in their opening day win at Wolves as they slumped to a home defeat against Tottenham on Saturday.
An even start was undone by a breakaway goal from Spurs, tucked away by Brennan Johnson after John Stones slipped at the worst moment. Then, goalkeeper James Trafford passed straight to Pape Sarr from a goal kick, gifting Joao Palhinha a second.
City could not fight their way back into the game, and Erling Haaland was mostly kept quiet throughout. He should have pulled one back before half-time but planted a free header over the bar from six yards.
Manchester City's Norwegian striker #09 Erling Haaland reacts after the team conceded a second goal during the English Premier League football match between Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur at the Etihad Stadium
Photo by DARREN STAPLES/AFP via Getty Images
As City’s new-look attack continues to gel, attention will always fall on Haaland when he fails to score – and that was the same against Tottenham.
Erling Haaland statistic sticks out as Man City struggle in attack
Moments after Trafford gifted Tottenham a game-killing second goal, Haaland was as guilty of a big error at the other end.
With the ball chipped onto his forehead by Rayan Cherki, Haaland rose highest and looked certain to plant home his third goal of the season, but inexplicably headed over.
That would be his only shot, and barring a strong run and through-ball for Omar Marmoush, he was kept relatively quiet by Tottenham.
And his low-key afternoon was summed up by his overall touches of just 22 over 90 minutes. It was the lowest of all City’s starters apart from Rayan Ait-Nouri, who was injured in the first half, and even goalkeeper James Trafford registered 49 total touches.
Pep Guardiola defends James Trafford selection vs Tottenham
Haaland’s 22 touches were lower than four substitutes in the game, further emphasising how isolated he was in City’s rare home defeat.
James Trafford of Manchester City looks dejected during the Premier League match between Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur at Etihad Stadium
Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images
He rarely goes too many games without being involved, and will be keen to take his chances next week at Brighton in the Premier League – with history suggesting he will score.
Meanwhile, Pep Guardiola defended his selection of James Trafford despite the young goalkeeper’s error, saying he earned the start with his performance last week at Wolves.
“He made a good first game, James, and I decided to continue,” Guardiola said. “The keeper is a special position of course to have more consistency… but this amount of games everybody will play. It was just today I decided that.”