Pep Guardiola believes he has seen a potential title rival in after watching Tottenham secure an impressive 2-0 win over his Manchester City side.
And the visiting manager made clear he had no complaints losing to Mauricio Pochettino’s side, adding that they were “better” than his squad.
Victory for Spurs closed the gap between them and early pace-setters City, who had won all of their league matches since Guardiola’s arrival, to just one point, with Arsenal a further point back after their late victory over Burnley.
Tottenham pushed Leicester close for much of last season until a collapse in the final weeks saw them cede second place to the Gunners. But Guardiola believes Spurs belong among the contenders for the Premier League crown in the coming months.
Tottenham vs Manchester City
“They were fighting for the Premier League last season until the end,” he told reporters. “In the Premier League, there are many teams that can achieve that [the title] and Tottenham are one of them.”
An own goal from Aleksandar Kolarov and Dele Alli’s strike set Spurs on course before half-time, with the visitors struggling to deal with the intensity and energy of Tottenham, exemplified by the harassing centre-forward Heung-min Son gave to John Stones and the rest of the City backline.
Substitute Kelechi Iheanacho and Sergio Aguero both threatened Hugo Lloris’ goal in the closing stages but Tottenham’s victory rarely seemed in doubt. Guardiola admitted as much, praising his opponents for their high-quality display.
“They were better, it can happen,” Guardiola said. “They were one step in front of us today. We have to accept it and learn from that.
“We lost a lot of balls in places that were dangerous. They won the second balls, we had problems with that. It was a little bit difficult in that sense to control.
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“They play with talent. We knew how aggressive they are, especially at home. Football is a process, sometimes you win and sometimes you lose.
“In two or three years, my team will be better.”
