Pep Guardiola reacts to opening day defeat to Tottenham
Pep Guardiola has said that his Manchester City side were not good enough during their opening day defeat to Tottenham.
City lost the game 1-0 with Son Heung-min scoring the only goal just after half time, beating Nathan Ake before bending an effort into the far corner.
Guardiola’s side had several good chances early on and were made to rue their wastefulness. The loss was City’s second of the season after previously falling to a 1-0 defeat against Leicester City in the Community Shield.
Speaking after the game, Guardiola reflected that City struggled to deal with Spurs’ counter-attacking threat, while also addressing his side’s poor recent record against Tottenham and Jack Grealish’s league debut.
On his side’s performance
“We started really well. We had problems in some transitions and we weren't good enough," Guardiola told Sky Sports.
"We conceded due to loose balls. In general, the intention to create chances we did much more but unfortunately we were not good enough to finish them and we lose the game.
"We lose the ball, they went in behind. Lucas Moura had the quality to drive with the ball. It happened because we could not make the simple things better. We lose the ball on the inside and they drive on the outside when it was clear we had to defend deep.
"Apart from that in general it was really good. Sometimes we lose the second balls but in general it was good."
On the players he still has to come back
"Two days ago was the first day we were together so I know players need time to come back mentally.
"One more week, it's still the beginning of the season so we need to start to win games. There are 37 more games. It is a long season ahead. We try to correct some things then after that we are going to come back with our best."
On City’s failing to score at Tottenham’s new stadium
"Spurs are a tough rival for us," he told the club's website. "I always have the feeling we are good when we play here, but we cannot get the results. You see the stats every time we play here. Apart from the first season at White Hart Lane, we were really good.
"But stats are stats. It’s not easy to control. You lose the ball and they make transitions, they run really well with the ball.
"Moura runs and they make you defend 40 meters behind. We lost simple balls in the parts of our process which we can’t do if we want to be stable as a team."
On Jack Grealish’s Premier League debut
“He is so dangerous close to the box. He has personality - it was an incredible debut. He will be so important for us and I congratulated him for his personality to try and try until the end."