Pep Guardiola's flawless start as Manchester City manager has hit the buffers after a draw against Celtic in the Champions League and a clear defeat to Tottenham. With a line-up that had a distinctly Manuel Pellegrini look about it -- only Claudio Bravo and John Stones of the summer signings started -- City were swamped in the first half by an eager Spurs side. With the damage done, there was not enough guile or pace to pull anything back after the break.
Positives
A second-half reshuffle brought City back into it a little, but perhaps the best thing to come from the game will have been the lessons Guardiola learned from seeing his team react to defeat: Fernando, Pablo Zabaleta, Jesus Navas and Aleksandar Kolarov did not look comfortable playing in a game of this nature.
Negatives
The lack of composure at the back was almost tangible, while the midfield was overrun for long periods. Without Kevin De Bruyne to dictate passing and movement, City looked shell-shocked by Tottenham's intensity and unable to do anything about it.
Manager rating out of 10
7 -- Guardiola stuck to the bulk of a side that had played for much of last term. Although he brought on Ilkay Gundogan, the City manager seemed to wait far too long to introduce Leroy Sane for the ineffective Raheem Sterling. The young German's control brought immediate if unrewarded openings.
Player ratings (1-10; 10=best. Players introduced after 70 minutes get no rating)
GK Claudio Bravo, 6 -- A couple of good reaction saves along with the penalty block from Erik Lamela. Bravo also was guilty of a couple of dangerously directionless throw-outs and was overelaborate with his passing, despite being put under pressure by his defenders.
DF Pablo Zabaleta, 5 -- Became embroiled in a tricky contest with Son Heung-Min, which had him on the back foot for the first 80 minutes. Looked slow and unable to react to the game's pace.
DF Nicolas Otamendi, 6 -- Looked like a red card waiting to happen after an early booking, but stuck at it in a hectic defensive set up. He was never comfortable with Dele Alli and Christian Eriksen running at him, though, and likely displeased his manager with a wide variety of aimless clearances.