MANCHESTER City’s revamped squad displayed familiar defensive weaknesses during a surprising 2-0 home defeat against Tottenham on Saturday.
Brennan Johnson and Joao Palhinha scored just before half-time for the visitors, handing new manager Thomas Frank a perfect start with two wins from his opening league matches.
City’s four-year reign as Premier League champions ended dramatically last season when they finished third behind Liverpool and Arsenal.
Their campaign began promisingly with a 4-0 victory against Wolves that suggested the team had returned to peak form.
Tottenham took the lead after thirty five minutes when Richarlison squared for Brennan Johnson to power past Trafford.
The England goalkeeper then had a moment of madness when he attempted a pass to Nico Gonzalez inside his own box.
Pape Matar Sarr intercepted and, even though the goalkeeper recovered to deny Richarlison, Palhinha smashed home the rebound.
Spurs let a two-goal lead slip late on against PSG to lose the UEFA Super Cup in Frank’s first game in charge earlier this month, but rarely looked in danger of suffering a similar fate.
“From every game you learn and games where you don’t get the result you learn even more,“ said Frank.
“Defensive principles and the mentality is the key thing. We need this mentality to win games like this.”
Arsenal moved ahead of their north London rivals at the top of the table on goal difference after thrashing Leeds 5-0 at the Emirates Stadium.
New signing Viktor Gyokeres scored his first goals for the club in a dominant performance that also saw contributions from multiple attackers.
Jurrien Timber doubled his Arsenal goal tally by scoring twice from corners.
Saka blasted in from a narrow angle to double the home side’s lead just before half-time.
Gyokeres has been signed to fill Arsenal’s need for a prolific striker after finishing second in the Premier League for the past three years.
The Swede showed his poise in front of goal with a cool finish after latching onto Riccardo Calafiori’s pass.
And Gyokeres was lethal from the penalty spot deep into stoppage time after 15-year-old Max Dowman had been felled on his Premier League debut.
“We have abilities to score in various ways,“ said Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta.
“A lot to be excited by. A really positive afternoon to start the season off at home.”
Aston Villa suffered their second consecutive defeat after losing 1-0 at Brentford, failing to score in either of their opening matches.
Bournemouth secured a 1-0 victory against ten-man Wolves through Marcus Tavernier’s solitary goal.
Burnley earned their first points following promotion with a 2-0 win over Sunderland courtesy of goals from Josh Cullen and Jaidon Anthony. – AFP