Manchester City suffered their first defeat of the Premier League season after losing 2-0 to Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday afternoon.
Premier League
Teams: Manchester City v Tottenham Hotspur
Date: 23 August 2025
Venue: Etihad Stadium
Rayan Cherki made his first start for City in the Premier League after scoring against Wolverhampton Wanderers off the bench last weekend while Rodri was only named on the bench.
The Citizens made a lively start to the encounter, with Omar Marmoush causing a bit or problems down the left flank but Spurs goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario made a couple good stops in the opening 15 minutes.
City coach Pep Guardiola was forced to make a change after 20 minutes when full-back Rayan Ait-Nouri was forced off with an injury and replaced by Nathan Ake.
However, it was Spurs who broke the deadlock against the run of play as a swift counter-attack ended with Richarlison racing down the right flank before picking out Brennan Johnson for the close range strike, with the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) confirming the goal after it was initially denied for offside.
City should have pulled one back on the stroke of halftime when Cherki did well to pick out Erling Haaland in the box, but the Norwegian striker sent his header over the crossbar.
It was more of the same in the second half as City continued to dominate possession without carving out any big chances in the box, while Spurs remained a threat on the counter-attack.
Guardiola threw on Phil Foden and Rodri for the final 15 minutes, a decision which nearly paid off until Spurs defender Micky van de Ven produced a superb block to deny the former in the six-yard area.
That proved to be the final chance of the half for the Manchester outfit, who start with a defeat in their first home game while Spurs make it back-to-back wins to start the league season.
