Son Gave City Kane-less Spurs a 1 - 0 Win Over Pursuant Citizens ........ As Grealish Had a Quite Debut for City

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 Son Gave City Kane-less Spurs a 1 - 0 Win Over Pursuant Citizens


........ As Grealish Had a Quite Debut for City




Son Gave City Kane-less Spurs a 1 - 0 Win Over Pursuant Citizens ........ As Grealish Had a Quite Debut for City

By Olusola Hammed


Tottenham made light of the absence of unsettled Harry Kane to start the Premier League season with a win over champions Manchester City and their £100m man Jack Grealish.


Kane - heavily linked with a move to Manchester City - sat out this pulsating encounter but Pep Guardiola wasted no time in throwing in his British record signing from Aston Villa.


It was Son Heung-min who gave new manager Nuno Espirito Santo the perfect start to his reign with a low shot that snaked beyond Manchester City keeper Ederson 10 minutes after the break.


Spurs fully deserved their win as they survived a shaky opening phase to play with real purpose, already showing signs of the Nuno trademark with fierce defensive dis,cipline allied to pace on the break.


Grealish had a quiet debut, being shown a yellow card late on, and it was actually Spurs who had the best opportunity after Son's goal, only for Steven Bergwijn to shoot wide when clean through. The city had fleeting opportunities but rarely tested Spurs keeper Hugo Lloris as they looked rusty in contrast to the sharpness of their opponents.


The city had fleeting opportunities but rarely tested Spurs, keeper Hugo Lloris as they looked rusty in contrast to the sharpness of their opponents.


Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola says new signing Jack Grealish was 'excellent'

Manchester City's race appeared run long before the end of this game, with the early spark of promise snuffed out by the endeavour and skill of Spurs.


Grealish made some useful contributions early on but his day ended in the frustration of a yellow card and it is clear Guardiola, understandably, still has some work to do to integrate his talents into a squad already packed with creative ability.


One look at the City bench hinted at what Guardiola can introduce in the weeks ahead, even if Kane does not make the move to Manchester.


Kevin de Bruyne, Oleksandr Zinchenko, and Gabriel Jesus were introduced in the final 20 minutes, while England's Euro 2020 pair Kyle Walker and John Stones were unused substitutes, as were Aymeric Laporte, Rodri, and Bernardo Silva - a formidable array of talent.


But nothing could save this over-complicated and listless City show with Benjamin Mendy showing yet again what a flawed figure he is at left-back while Nathan Ake was also uncomfortable.


And, significantly, City's lack of punch, with the great Sergio Aguero now gone, may just have prompted Guardiola to look even further into the acquisition of Kane, especially as Chelsea, Liverpool, and Manchester United have already given notice that there will be very little margin for error in the title race this season.

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