- James Maddison’s brace condemned Manchester City to their heaviest home defeat under Pep Guardiola
- Tottenham’s victory shattered City’s 52-match unbeaten run at the Etihad, dating back two years
- Kyle Walker admitted City’s defensive issues, stating the need to return to basics after their fifth consecutive defeat
Tottenham Hotspur displayed a stunning 4-0 victory against Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium, condemning Pep Guardiola’s side to their fifth consecutive defeat in all competitions.
The result saw City’s heaviest home loss under Guardiola and shattered their 52-match unbeaten run at the Etihad, a streak that dated back two years. Spurs climbed to sixth place in the Premier League with 19 points, while City remained second with 23, but now five points behind league leaders Liverpool, who have a game in hand.
James Maddison, celebrating his 28th birthday, was the star of the show, scoring a sensational first-half brace that left City shocked. Maddison opened the scoring in the 15th minute, volleying home a curly cross from Dejan Kulusevski.
Just five minutes later, the England playmaker struck again, capitalising on a defensive error to receive a pass from Son Heung-Min and lift the ball over City goalkeeper Ederson. .Despite City starting the match brightly, their defensive lapses were punished by a relentless Tottenham side.
Kyle Walker, City’s captain on the night, voiced his frustration after the match,
“I’ve stood here when we won titles, so I’ll stand here for defeats too, as a defender, I don’t care about scoring goals; I care about keeping clean sheets, and we’re not doing that at the minute. If we concede four goals at home, what do you want our strikers to do? Go and score five?”
Walker also called for collective responsibility, stating that defending and attacking are team efforts involving all 11 players on the pitch. He urged his teammates to rediscover their confidence and reflect on the team’s past successes,
“We’ve lost confidence as a team because we’ve not won for a long time. We have to remember what we’ve achieved together,” he remarked.
For Guardiola, the loss raises questions about City’s defence and their ability to recover from a poor run of form.
Meanwhile, Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou will be thrilled with his team’s performance as they continue to climb higher on the Premier League table after a shaky start to the season.
Man City faces uncertain future as Guardiola holds his cards to his chest
Previously, TheRadar reported that Manchester City’s future hangs in the balance as Pep Guardiola talks about the upcoming departure of Txiki Begiristain, the club’s long-serving director of football.
While Begiristain’s influence will be missed, Guardiola is also facing questions about his own future. With his contract expiring at the end of the current 2024/2025 season, the Spanish manager has hinted at being “closer to leaving than staying” after securing City’s historic fourth consecutive Premier League title in May.
