The two Manchester clubs now have a thing in common. Just as Altay Bayindir was culpable for Manchester United’s defeat to Arsenal last weekend, Manchester City now also have their goalkeeper James Trafford to blame for the loss to Tottenham Hotspur at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday, August 23.
Tottenham won the match 2-0 to go to the top of the Premier League table. They have scored five times in their two matches so far and have not conceded any.
However, the Cityzens, who won in their first match, suffered their first defeat of the season at their home ground.
James Trafford Had a Forgettable Outing for Manchester City
Trafford was preferred again over Ederson by Pep Guardiola on Saturday. The 22-year-old goalkeeper made a mess of a pass that was intercepted by Pape Matar Sarr, which led to Tottenham’s second goal.
However, prior to that, Tottenham’s quick and direct approach paid dividends as they beat Manchester City’s high defensive line from a counter-attack to score their first goal through Brennan Johnson.
Trafford made a few errors in anticipation as well, as he came out of the penalty box several times, but failed to make contact with the ball. Tottenham, on the other hand, remained compact and deep in their defence, as Micky van de Ven made a superb block to deny Phil Foden in the second half.
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A Strong Bench With No Real Impact
Man City started the match with Rayan Cherki, Tijjani Reijnders and Nico Gonzalez in the midfield, leaving Foden, Rodri and Bernardo Silva on the bench among others. However, Joao Palhinha, who scored Tottenham’s second goal, and Rodrygo Bentancur marked Reijnders intensely to not allow the Dutchman have any runs into the box.
Omar Marmoush, who started on the left flank in place of Jeremy Doku, failed to have any proper impact on the game either. Marmoush also missed a golden opportunity to score when Erling Haaland set him free with a measured pass to the Tottenham penalty box.
Doku was introduced in the second half and kept cutting into the box repeatedly from the left flank. He also earned quite a few corners for Manchester City.
Rodri also made an appearance in the second half and played a few impressive passes during his brief stay on the pitch.
However, the Cityzens’ tendency to play short passes in the middle third seemed painstaking at times against Tottenham’s resolute defending. Guardiola’s men had 60% ball-possession in the match, but Tottenham had more shots.
Manchester City will face Brighton & Hove Albion next. It is going to be a difficult away match for them. However, one thing is pretty much certain: Trafford is not going to be in the Cityzens’ goal in the match against Brighton. Ederson should be playing his first match of the season there.
However, changing the goalkeeper might not alleviate all concerns for the Cityzens. Their midfield and attack need to have more edge, otherwise winning the league title will not be possible for them. Guardiola will surely not want a repeat of last season.
Main Photo
Credit: IMAGO / Pro Sports Images
Recording Date: 23.08.2025