Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has acknowledged that his side lost some of their rhythm and intensity after Tottenham scored, during their 2–2 draw in Premier League Round 24 on Saturday, February 1.
City appeared in control after going two goals ahead, with Rayan Cherki and Antoine Semenyo finding the net. However, Spurs mounted a strong second-half response, scoring twice within a 20-minute spell, denying the reigning champions all three points in London.
Tottenham’s resurgence after the break, driven by a brace from Dominic Solanke, shifted the momentum of the match and ultimately halted City’s push for victory.
Despite the disappointment, Guardiola stressed that there were many positives to take from the performance, apart from the period immediately after halftime when Spurs took charge.
“After they scored their first goal, they controlled the game for about 15 to 20 minutes,” Guardiola said after the match.
“That’s normal. When you’re 2–0 down, you have nothing to lose, and they fed off the crowd and their physical energy. Still, in the final 15 to 20 minutes, we gradually regained control after playing a very good first half.”
Guardiola also pointed to missed opportunities in wide areas:
“We had one-on-one situations against their full-backs that we didn’t take advantage of, but overall the way we played was good.”
The City boss also commented on the controversy surrounding Solanke’s opening goal
, which appeared to involve contact with Marc Guéhi but was upheld following a VAR review.
“If a centre-back does that to a striker, it’s a penalty, isn’t it?” Guardiola remarked.
Reflecting further on the second half, he added:
“We could have controlled the game for another 10 or 15 minutes to make things easier. But once they scored, they started winning second balls. That gave them belief, and after a goal, you often have to suffer for another 10 or 15 minutes.”
Guardiola admitted that halting such momentum in the Premier League is never straightforward once a team regains confidence:
“In English football, sometimes you can control things, and sometimes you can’t. That’s just how the Premier League works.”
He concluded by noting that City are still adjusting due to squad changes:
“It’s easier when the score is 3–0 or 4–0, but we have new players and moments where our focus wasn’t perfect. We need to finish our actions better, but overall the performance was quite good.
We know we don’t want to allow those transition moments, but after their first goal, it became an emotional issue—and in this league, that kind of intensity is very difficult to stop.”
