On Sunday, August 15, 2021, Manchester City’s Pep Guardiola and Nuno Espirito Santo of Tottenham Hotspur faced each other in their Premier League opener and to the surprise of many, Nuno overpowered Guardiola.
Though it was not the first time the two coaches had faced themselves in a Premier League game, it was the first time Nuno led Tottenham into a Premier League game. Unfortunately for him, he did that without the biggest player at Spurs, Harry Kane.
Kane’s desire to leave Tottenham Hotspur this summer has been a cause of concern to many fans of the London club. The fact that he didn’t make it into Nuno’s team ahead of the game against Manchester City made it look like the England striker is still unsettled at the club.
Reports have it that Manchester City are still very interested in him even though Tottenham rejected their initial bid of £100 million for the English striker.
Even though the striker said he is still loyal to Tottenham, he has not aborted his desire to move to a more ambitious club where he can win titles.
Hence, Pep Guardiola and Nuno Espirito Santo were dragged into the state of things as it involved the England captain after Tottenham stunned Manchester City 1-0.
HM7 with a peach of a finish. 🍑 pic.twitter.com/HCqBRsY7Uu
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) August 15, 2021
During the post-match press conference, Sky Sports tried to get Pep Guardiola and Nuno Espirito Santo to talk about Kane but they were very reserved with their comments.
Coach Nuno stressed that Tottenham are lucky to have the England international and noted that Kane who started training at the club after post Euro 2020 break last Thursday would start playing for the club again once he is ready.
The coach said: “We are very lucky to have him. Harry Kane is one of the best players in the world, honestly.
“He has to get ready and help the team. We still have to go to Portugal [on Thursday for the Europa Conference League] then we think about Wolves.”
Night, Spurs fans! 💙 pic.twitter.com/QlikNK1GKR
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) August 15, 2021
He added that Harry Kane trained at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium on Sunday morning before the Manchester City vs Tottenham Hotspur kick-off time.
“Harry worked this morning. He is preparing himself and when he is ready he will join the group and help the team,” Nuno added.
On the other hand, Pep Guardiola refused to accept that the 1-0 defeat in the hands of Tottenham Hotspur showed how much he needed a new striker. The Spanish tactician stressed that he is happy with his current attacking options.
“We have the same guys as last season, just without Sergio [Aguero],” Guardiola told BBC after the 1-0 defeat.
“I’m so delighted with the same guys who scored a lot of goals. I’m more than delighted with this.”
On the performance of Manchester City’s new signing, Jack Grealish, Guardiola said the record £100 million wingers performed excellently.
“He played with a personality and created chances. Unfortunately, we could not win for him on his debut but he played well,” Guardiola said.
“He doesn’t lose the ball. He is so dangerously close to the box.”
