Manchester City faced off against Tottenham Hotspur at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium earlier today as they looked to kick off their Premier League title defence with a victory on the road. The Mancunian giants enjoyed more of the ball but struggled to find the cutting edge in the final third as they went into the half-time break with a goalless scoreline.
Heung-min Son scored a brilliant solo goal from outside the box in the 55th minute to put Tottenham ahead of the scoreline. Man City were toothless in the final third and ended up losing the contest by a narrow 1-0 scoreline at North London.
Let’s take a look at how each Man City player performed during the clash against Spurs.
GK: Ederson – 6/10
The Brazilian keeper made one good save during the game but couldn’t do much about Son’s excellent match-winning strike in the second half.
RB: Joao Cancelo – 7.5/10
The Portuguese full-back was defensively solid and created some decent chances for his teammates in the attacking end of the pitch.
CB: Ruben Dias – 6.5/10
Dias was strong in the air and cleared his lines when needed. He also retained possession quite well for his side.
CB: Nathan Ake – 6/10
The Man City centre-back allowed Son to cut inside and get a shot-in at goal and the South Korean international made him pay harshly with a beautiful, left-footed strike. Otherwise, he was a dominant force in the air and didn’t do much wrong in the game.
LB: Benjamin Mendy – 6/10
Mendy kept a good shape when defending inside his half and engineered a couple of promising chances in the opponent’s half.
CM: Jack Grealish – 7/10
It was an impressive debut for Grealish despite his team’s defeat. He made some intelligent runs with the ball and was a constant threat from midfield.
CM: Fernandinho – 6.5/10
The Brazilian veteran created some decent openings for others around him and got stuck in with multiple tackles to hamper Tottenham’s flow on the counter.
CM: Ilkay Gundogan – 6/10
Gundogan struggled to influence the game in the final third and was a bit sloppy on the ball.
RW: Riyad Mahrez – 6.5/10
Mahrez linked up play well with his teammates up top but didn’t get too many chances to score.
ST: Ferran Torres – 5/10
The Spaniard offered very little in front of the Tottenham goal. He was a spectator in the opposition half for most of the game.
LW: Raheem Sterling – 6/10
Sterling was nowhere near his best and produced a dull display down the left flank.
Substitutes:
ST: Gabriel Jesus – 6/10
The Brazilian striker didn’t do enough to get himself a goal.
LB: Oleksandr Zinchenko – 6/10
Zinchenko added some energy on Man City’s left flank.
CAM: Kevin De Bruyne – 6.5/10
The Belgian international had his moments but failed to help his team get something out of this game.
