LONDON — After a wild opening weekend clash in north London, the Tottenham – Manchester City reaction post-game followed suit.
We were live at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and in the press conferences for both managers, while players are also giving their reaction too.
[ MORE: 3 things we learned | Player ratings ]
Spurs beat Manchester City 1-0 courtesy of Heung-min Son’s second half stunner, as the reigning Premier League champions started well but Spurs then showed their class on the counter.
With the future of Harry Kane a hot topic as Tottenham battle to keep their star striker and Manchester City push hard to sign the $220 million valued superstar, both Nuno Espirito Santo and Pep Guardiola had their say as Kane played no part on Sunday.
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Below is Tottenham – Manchester City reaction, with plenty of interviews from both clubs.
Tottenham – Manchester City reaction, live!
Nuno Espirito Santo is speaking to the written media and he is very happy.
Asked about the display of Heung-min Son, the match winner, Nuno kept it simple:
“Sonny, he is a killer. He did OK, but I still believe in the first half he could finish off a few more actions.” Nuno is a bit of a hard man to please, but he smiled as he said it.
ProSoccerTalk asked Nuno about the importance of the young players, Skipp and Tanganga, coming in and playing aggressively and helping set the tone for the season. He hailed the academy and says they do a fantastic job and their role is to provide first team players.
He was, obviously, asked about Harry Kane:
Santo says that Kane will be with the team when he is ready to help them after more training. He is pretty simple with that answer.
He was also asked if that was a ‘perfect start’ but said he and his team will never reach perfection, probably. Pretty perfect start though, right?
🗣 Nuno Espirito Santo: "Really proud of the way the players work. Very thankful for the support of the fans. They helped the team until the final minute."
Live reaction from here at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium ⤵️ #THFC #TOTMCI https://t.co/lzhH6r1avR
— Joe Prince-Wright (@JPW_NBCSports) August 15, 2021
Heung-min Son has been speaking to our broadcast crew pitch-side at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium:
Safe to say Sonny is delighted after signing a new contract this summer.
Tottenham’s fans love him and he led so many counter attacks before scoring the winner. What a display.
Goal-scoring hero Heung-min Son and #THFC boss Nuno Espirito Santo discuss big win over #MCFC and Harry Kane's absence from the 18: "He's preparing himself to help the team." https://t.co/f2xvzv5u6A
— NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) August 15, 2021
Guardiola was asked about Jack Grealish and his Premier League debut for Man City:
“He is so dangerous close to the box. He will be so important for us. I congratulate him and thank him for the personality to try it until then end.”
After two shutouts in their first two games of the season, Man City’s manager was asked if City’s current squad can score the goals they need:
“Of course. Absolutely. It is the first game. We know we needed time. We were in good positions, especially Benjamin [Mendy] and Joao [Cancelo]. When we are playing one way, we have to be more precise in the final things. These teams are waiting to punish. I saw many very good things that will help us in the future.”
Guardiola also pays tribute to Gerd Muller, the legendary Germany and Bayern Munich striker who sadly passed away at the age of 75.
Pep Guardiola was happy enough with Man City’s display…
“It is a dream for our wingers, a dream for our strikers. In the end we couldn’t make the shot. The way we started showed me the team is there. We played with an incredibly huge personality,” Guardiola told the media in a post-game press conference.
👏 Safe to say Nuno Espírito Santo is already a favorite with the Tottenham fans. #THFC #TOTMCI pic.twitter.com/KDEg8imIRb
— Joe Prince-Wright (@JPW_NBCSports) August 15, 2021
Nuno Espiritio Santo has been talking to our partners in the UK at Sky Sports about a debut win in charge of Tottenham:
“It was good I think. The atmosphere was special off the hard work of the boys. They make any crowd proud when they work so hard. It was strong. We were lucky because they had chances but the boys held on and they stayed in the game. We knew it would be tough. After that first 20 minutes we did better and we started getting our chances. In the first half we didn’t finish so good. When we should have shot on goal we didn’t do it.
“Not only him [Japhet Tanganga]. In terms of shape and our organisation the front three worked very hard and closed the gaps. It’s very difficult to play against City with the way they build the first moment. It requires a lot of discipline so the boys did OK. I’m sure that with commitment and the talent we have, we will be a good team. We are in the process of that. I am learning every day and I am very proud of them today, very proud.”
Espirito Santo on Harry Kane, also to Sky Sports:
“Look, Harry Kane is one of the best players in the world, honestly. We are very lucky to have him. He has to get ready and help the team. We still have to go to Portugal then we think about Wolves.”
Man City’s Raheem Sterling was honest when it came to his assessment of the game:
“I thought we started well. We controlled the game better at times, we let them counter at times. It is the first game and we have a long way to go. We got in the right positions at times, we had one or two chances we could put away but we didn’t and they did. The referee let the game flow. I thought he was brilliant today,” Raheem Sterling told BBC.
Tottenham fans applaud Nuno Espirito Santo, Spurs players after battling win against Man City
The scene is wilddddd here in north London as Tottenham’s fans react to a big win, without Harry Kane.
‘Are you watching Harry Kane?’ was the loudest chant of the day from the near 60,000 crowd here at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. I’m sure he was, and I wonder what he made of that. Maybe he’s giving Pep and City a call to call the move off as we speak…
🎶 Glory, glory Tottenham Hotspur 🎶 sing the #THFC fans at full time.
What a win for Nuno Espírito Santo in his first game in charge of Spurs. Man City second best for the majority of that clash. Spurs brilliant on the counter. #TOTMCI pic.twitter.com/WIlamR9cmQ
— Joe Prince-Wright (@JPW_NBCSports) August 15, 2021
