Manchester City

Freddie Pye
Fan writer

Image source, Getty Images

It is a common feeling in football that too often, you do not truly appreciate what you have until it has gone. For Manchester City, there is no doubt in many minds that such an example might be the integral component that is Ederson.

Some supporters have been quick to dismiss of the Brazilian goalkeeper - who has been Pep Guardiola's number one choice between the sticks since 2017 - when rumours first emerged of Saudi Arabian interest in 2024, and Galatasaray interest earlier this summer.

While Ederson's shot-stopping has been called in question increasingly over the last two seasons, Guardiola has continued to stand by the 32-year-old. Although, with the lure of a fresh challenge and opportunity with the Turkish champions, a change may be on the cards between the posts.

And with just a week remaining in the summer transfer window, and talks believed to be advancing between Galatasaray and Manchester City for Ederson, the opening two contests in the Premier League have offered a first glimpse into what life without the Brazil international may look like.

After a hugely encouraging start on the road at Wolves on matchday one, James Trafford retained his place against Tottenham, but his fortunes were far less favourable as the 22-year-old conceded twice and saw his performance littered with individual errors, lapses of concentration, and some less-than-convincing shot-stopping.

Brennan Johnson's opener brushed the hand of Trafford before finding the back of the net, while it was the Manchester City Academy graduate's poor short-pass into Nico Gonzalez that saw Tottenham dispossess Guardiola's side inside their own penalty area to score a second before half-time.

There remains no doubt that Trafford is a goalkeeper with remarkable promise and talent, and he certainly has a future at the Etihad Stadium - but perhaps in time, and with a bit of patience needed. That time to settle would ease any pressure of holding down the number one position under Guardiola immediately.

And while there also remains talk of interest in Paris St-Germain's Gianluigi Donnarumma, the weekend's showing from Manchester City should be a firm reminder to supporters that life without Ederson could be far more complex and difficult to transition through than first imagined.

Find more from Freddie Pye at City Xtra, external

Shamoon Hafez
Football reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Manchester City have four senior goalkeepers on their books, with summer signing James Trafford starting the two Premier League games so far.

The 22-year-old was unconvincing in Saturday's 2-0 home defeat by Tottenham, with Ederson watching from the substitutes' bench.

Like Manuel Akanji, the Brazil international has been of heavy interest to Galatasaray, but no deal has yet been agreed between the two clubs.

Ederson would need to leave if City were to sign Gianluigi Donnarumma from Paris St-Germain, but club sources have denied personal terms have been agreed with the Italy number one.

There is an expectation that Stefan Ortega will leave the club by Monday's deadline, but is it understood the German is not close to an exit at this stage.

Meanwhile, could midfielder Ilkay Gundogan - who was left out of the Spurs game for tactical reasons - be another who departs? City are likely to explore any offers that may come in for the 34-year-old.

Manager Pep Guardiola has said Savinho is out injured at the moment, and it is not known whether Spurs and City officials had discussions over the winger on Saturday, having held talks earlier in the transfer window.

What is known is that City do not want to sell the Brazilian, and it would need a significant offer to consider doing so.

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Manchester City defender Nathan Ake reflected on his side's 2-0 defeat by Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday, attributing the result to Spurs' impressive performance more than anything else.

Speaking to BBC Radio Manchester, the Dutchman also praised the resilience of team-mate James Trafford, expressing full confidence that the young goalkeeper will recover quickly from his mistake against Thomas Frank's side.

"Tough to take, we wanted to continue the run," said Ake. "I thought Tottenham made it very difficult - [they were] very organised and pressed us very high and made us uncomfortable.

"When you concede those goals, it becomes difficult, and it shows that we still have work to do.

"His [James Trafford's] mentality is very good and very mature for his age. I am sure he will take this and continue.

"The manager always says we have to play out and we have to try, and these kind of things happen. We just have to bounce back."

Listen to more from Ake on BBC Sounds

Crystal Palace have tabled a £15m offer for Manchester City defender Manuel Akanji. (Sun), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Tuesday's full gossip column

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Former Premier League midfielder Nigel Reo-Coker says he feels sorry for Manchester City's goalkeeper James Trafford after a difficult home debut in which he was at fault for Tottenham's second goal.

But if he is to keep the number one spot "he has to adapt" quickly or manager Pep Guardiola may look elsewhere.

"I feel sorry for the young lad," Reo-Coker said on BBC Radio 5 Live's Football Daily podcast. "When you go to City, you become a player that is indebted to Pep Guardiola's system.

"It is not about you or your freedom and creativity, it is about the system - so if it doesn't work like how Guardiola wants then you won't play.

"It is a tough job for such a young goalkeeper to go into that team. Even when I watched him at Burnley, where he was sensational, he wasn't playing out from the back all the time.

"Their approach was very direct and they defended first. His job was shot-stopping and he was fantastic at that, but at City he needs a whole different skill set.

"You can see he is still a bit nervous, but he's going to have to mature quickly because this is what comes with playing for City.

"He has to adapt and try to get himself to be better because there's no other way."

Listen to the Football Daily podcast on BBC Sounds

We asked for your thoughts after Saturday's Premier League between Manchester City and Tottenham.

Here are some of your comments:

Man City fans

Gareth: City started well faced with a resolute Spurs defence but the progress we saw last week against Wolves evaporated. Both goals were down to errors, these things happen, but rather than fight back, City were trying the stuff that didn't work last season. Trafford made that mistake but Ederson has made similar ones. Hopefully this will shock the players enough to get back into Pep's new strategies.

Pat: A poor and concerning performance - worst I can remember under Pep. We started well and looked much the better team but after we conceded (on a break, big surprise there) we looked bereft of ideas. Our back four were sluggish and looked uncomfortable on the ball, and sadly the keeper made a terrible error. The midfield was so disjointed. Spurs' press was excellent and combined with their aggression off the ball, they were too much for City.

Paul: City were very lightweight - getting bullied off the ball and unable to deal with Spurs' pressing game. Very short on ideas in the last third. Fair play to Spurs , they did a number on us!

Spurs fans

Paul: An excellent result and a very disciplined performance. The midfield and defence were superb and Richarlison was his usual belligerent self. We just looked so much more organised and solid than last season. If we could just get a little more creativity in the side I think it could be a decent campaign. It's amazing how having both centre-backs fit and playing regularly together makes us look more like a team. Let's hope this good start continues. COYS.

Daniel: Our midfield dominated and is looking very strong - we haven't had that in a while. Palhinha is a great addition and looks very secure next to Bentancur. Sarr doesn't seem to stop running either! Who said we needed Eze?

Joe: We look so much better mentally than last season. The players looked like they would run through brick walls for each other.

Paris St-Germain goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma has agreed personal terms with Manchester City, with the two clubs in talks over a deal which will see the 26-year-old Italian join Pep Guardiola's side. (Fabrizio Romano), external

City's Savinho remains top of Tottenham's wanted list, with boss Thomas Frank keen to sign the winger after missing out on Eberechi Eze. (Independent), external

Spurs have indicated they are willing to pay £60.7m for Savinho, who is keen to make the move to north London. (Talksport), external

Meanwhile, Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool have interest in signing Real Madrid and Brazil winger Rodrygo, but the Spanish club are yet to receive a bid for the 24-year-old. (Marca - in Spanish), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Monday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

Pundits Alan Shearer and Micah Richards join host Kelly Cates to bring you the action and talking points from Friday and Sautrday's Premier League fixtures.

Watch on BBC iPlayer here

And listen back to full match commentaries on BBC Sounds:

• Brentford 1-0 Aston Villa

• Burnley 2-0 Sunderland

• Arsenal 5-0 Leeds

Shamoon Hafez
Football reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Manchester City started the season with an eye-catching victory at Wolves but came back down to earth with a bump as they suffered defeat in their first home game of the campaign.

Tottenham are Pep Guardiola's bogey side – the Spaniard has now lost a joint-high 10 games against them, the same number of defeats he has suffered as boss against Real Madrid and Liverpool.

They were made to pay for the gilt-edged chances missed by Omar Marmoush and Erling Haaland - the latter coming into the contest with an imperious record of scoring 48 Premier League goals in as many home games for the club.

A 2-0 half-time deficit proved too much for City to turn around, with Spurs defending resolutely and leaving Guardiola considering his options.

The goalkeeping situation will be at the forefront of his mind as James Trafford had a jittery game and was at fault for the second, as well as being fortunate not to be dismissed.

With Ederson watching on from the bench after being heavily linked with a move to Galatasaray, Guardiola now has a decision to make with his number one.

Pep Guardiola spoke to BBC Match of the Day after Manchester City's defeat against Tottenham: "The performance was better in general. We missed the simple passes a lot but we gave everything. We made it hard for ourselves with the second goal. We know the physicality they had. We lost simple balls.

On things progressing with the new signings: "We have done many good things in this period. We have to shape that period we have to finish the transfer market, we will see how many players we have and then after that we will see."

Did you know?

The average age of Manchester City's starting XI vs Tottenham was 24 years and 326 days – their youngest for a Premier League match since October 2010 against Arsenal (24y 257d).

Listen to Guardiola's chat with BBC Radio Manchester here

Whether you were at the game or following from elsewhere, we want to know what you learned.

Have your say on Man City's performance

What did you make of Tottenham's display?

Come back to this page on Monday to find a selection of your replies

Manchester City make two changes to the side that beat Wolves in the opening game.

After scoring off the bench at Molineux, is a first Premier League start for summer signing Rayan Cherki, while Omar Marmoush also comes in.

Jeremy Doku and Bernardo Silva are the players to drop to the bench, where Brazilian goalkeeper Ederson also returns after missing the trip to the Midlands through illness. It means James Trafford starts in goal again.

Man City XI: Trafford, Lewis, Stones, Dias, Ait-Nouri, Gonzalez, Reijnders, Cherki, Bobb, Marmoush, Haaland.

Tottenham also make two changes following their victory over newly promoted Burnley last Saturday.

Boss Thomas Frank has bolstered the middle of the park with Joao Palhinha and Rodrigo Bentancur coming in, with Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall making way.

Tottenham XI: Vicario, Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Spence, Sarr, Bentancur, Palhinha, Kudus, Johnson, Richarlison.

There are five games in the Premier League on Saturday and BBC Sport will bring you every moment.

• Manchester City v Tottenham (12:30)

• Bournemouth v Wolves

• Brentford v Aston Villa - BBC Radio 5 Live

• Burnley v Sunderland - BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

• Arsenal v Leeds (17:30) - BBC Radio 5 Live

Kick-off times 15:00 BST unless stated

Follow all of the action and reaction here

Jordan Butler
BBC Sport journalist

Manchester City have made their best start to a Premier League campaign for six years and now face a Tottenham side that also took maximum points on the opening weekend.

City have picked up just one win from their past four home matches against Spurs but Pep Guardiola's table-toppers were impressive in their 4-0 win at Wolves last weekend.

Tijjani Reijnders stole the show at Molineux with a midfielder masterclass and became only the second player to score and assist on Premier League debut for City after Sergio Aguero.

City's defensive high line also caught the eye and they limited the home side to three shots on target and an expected goals total of 0.56. Guardiola's men have kept seven clean sheets since April – the most of any side – and have faced the fewest shots per game of any top-flight side in that time.

Erling Haaland pitched in with two goals and he's now scored on the Premier League's opening weekend in all four of his seasons at City. He has amassed 48 goals in 48 home league appearances for the club but only one of those has come against Spurs at the Etihad.

Tottenham head coach Thomas Frank has made an encouraging start to life in north London with a 3-0 home win over promoted Burnley in his first Premier League game in charge.

Frank has switched to a more direct style of play, with 57% more crosses into the box and 36% more successful long passes compared to last season's Premier League average under Ange Postecoglou. Going longer at times on Saturday might prove fruitful, particularly if City persist with their extremely high backline.

The Dane led his former side Brentford to a 2-1 victory at the Etihad in November 2022 and could become just the third manager to defeat Pep Guardiola in an away league match with two different clubs. Jose Mourinho was the first with Real Madrid in 2012 and Manchester United six years later, and he was followed by Antonio Conte at Chelsea in 2016 and Spurs in 2022.

It is no secret that Tottenham are in the market for another attacking midfielder to replace the injured James Maddison, with failed bids for Morgan Gibbs-White and Eberechi Eze widely publicised.

However, £55m new boy Mohammed Kudus offered plenty of creative spark with five chances and two assists – no other Premier League player provided more last weekend.

Goals should at least be a guarantee on Saturday. The past four top-flight meetings between these sides at the Etihad have produced 21, with City scoring nine and Spurs 12.

Manchester City really impressed me last week and everyone is rightly talking about Tijjani Reijnders. Statman Dave told me to get him into my fantasy team, I didn't take that advice and I should've done. He was brilliant against Wolves.

I do think Tottenham will be a level above under Thomas Frank. It will be interesting to see how they set up after playing a back three in the Super Cup final against Paris St-Germain.

Cristian Romero has signed a new contract for Tottenham - that's a big deal - but how did they not get Eberechi Eze over the line? It had been going on for weeks and now Arsenal have come in and embarrassed them!

Tottenham are still a few players short from properly challenging the really big teams and, in this game, I think City at home will be too strong for them.

Sutton's prediction: 2-1

Read the full predictions and have your say here

Shamoon Hafez
Manchester City reporter

Image source, Getty Images

With 10 days still remaining, the astonishing £2.37bn spent by clubs in this transfer window is now a Premier League record.

Manchester City have been responsible for around £108m of that figure on five new players including Tijjani Reijnders and Rayan Cherki.

City's business has gone under the radar somewhat, with the likes of Liverpool's £100m man Florian Wirtz and Arsenal's £64m striker Viktor Gyokeres taking the headlines.

I asked boss Pep Guardiola about the cash being splashed by English clubs and whether it can continue.

"I don't know but the clubs spend with the strict financial rules [of PSR] and they will only spend if they can do it," he said.

"Apparently It's not just Manchester City [who are spending]."

A cheeky retort from the Spaniard.

He added: "Everyone does what they believe is the best for the team. I know our net spend for the last 10-11 years is amazing.

"You don't spend if you don't sell. We have been really good, that's why they're sustainable."

Alex Fletcher
BBC Sport journalist

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier League game against Tottenham at Etihad Stadium (12:30 BST).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Guardiola confirmed that Rodri and Phil Foden are "ready for tomorrow" after missing the first game of the season.

• With the midfielder set to return from injury, Guardiola called Rodri "the best player in the world" and said he just wants "consistency" in his fitness.

• He added: "Mateo Kovacic, Josko Gvardiol and Savinho are the only ones that are out."

• On if James Trafford will start ahead of the fit again Ederson: "We will decide tomorrow or tonight after dinner. I am happy with him, the new players always bring a new energy and James brings his youth and desire to play for the club he grew up at."

• When asked about Premier League clubs breaking spending records, he said: "I don't know but the clubs spend with the strict financial rules [of PSR] and they will only spend if they can do it. Apparently It's not just Manchester City [who are spending]."

• On their poor record against Spurs: "Spurs have been a tough opponent for us but this is a new season for us and what happened in the past is in the past and there's nothing we can do. Last season [4-0 defeat] came when the dynamic wasn't good but it is a new season with new vibes."

• Guardiola called Thomas Frank a "top class manager" and believes he can do "an incredible job" at Spurs.

Listen to more from Guardiola on BBC Sounds

Follow all of Friday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news