No Need for Man City to Worry, Despite Defensive Horror Show Against Tottenham

It's the first test of Manchester City's season. Two games in four days have seen them take a point from Celtic in the Champions League and lose their unbeaten record after a 2-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur.

On both occasions, City were harried and pressed out of their stride, unable to assert their usual game.

Any concerns that City have been found out are premature, though. Not only can few sides play with the same intensity Tottenham did during Sunday's victory, Pep Guardiola's side are unlikely to be that lacklustre on too many occasions.

As good as Tottenham were—and given they were missing some key players, they were very good indeed—City were often the architects of their own downfall.

The biggest concern for Guardiola after this week’s events will be City's defending. John Stones was excellent on Sunday, particularly in the second half when he drove his side forward time and again from the back, but his other defensive team-mates let themselves down badly.

Aleksandar Kolarov was dreadful and sliced into his own net to give Spurs the lead, and Pablo Zabaleta on the other side wasn't much better. City didn't address the full-back positions in the summer despite last season's warning signs, and they have paid the price in their most important league match of the season so far.

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The perfect afternoon 👌 #COYS pic.twitter.com/bbrge0MzZj

— Jan Vertonghen (@JanVertonghen) October 2, 2016"

Kolarov's inability to defend consistently has long been a problem. Playing at centre-back this season, he's looked measured and much improved, but that's usually in games where he hasn't been placed under too much pressure.

Celtic and Spurs took the game to City and didn't allow them time on the ball, and the Serbia international wilted on both occasions as a result.

Nicolas Otamendi also gave cause for concern. Like Kolarov, he has undergone a rapid and impressive improvement under Guardiola, but much of that good work was undone in the first half at White Hart Lane. The recklessness and lack of thought were back on display.

The Argentina international was pulled out of position and forced into fouls too easily. The things that made him a liability in his first season at City were very much in evidence against Tottenham, who wouldn't let him settle. Sides that get at Otamendi and look to force a mistake usually get some joy.

All of which brings the debate back to Vincent Kompany's fitness. City have in their midst the most commanding centre-half in the Premier League, but they just can't use him. The Belgian has struggled for so long with muscle complaints that most supporters have given up imagining a side with him in it.

His latest setback came in injury time of his first start this season at Swansea City, and he's since been to Barcelona for treatment. The Etihad Stadium medical staff have worked long and hard to try and establish a root cause of the problem, but the groin problem that looks set to keep him out for another couple of weeks suggests they are some way off doing so.

Frank Augstein/Associated Press

City need him. Kompany brings leadership, pace, power, strength, an ability to read the game and, as evidenced in the game at Swansea, he can pass between the lines. There were numerous times at the Liberty Stadium where he produced balls that set City on the attack in style.

However, they may now need a contingency plan, and the defensive resources they have aren't enough. Too much change in one transfer window can be detrimental, and City did plenty of business in other areas this summer. However, when the chequebook next opens, you can sure the focus will be on strengthening their back line.

“They were better. We were not in the right positions so congratulations to them,” Guardiola said after the game.

“The first goal is quite similar to the one we conceded in Glasgow, it is always difficult to recover. We played much better in the last 15 or 20 minutes. We knew they would press us high; we wanted that, but they did it better.

“[Losing] is part of the game, part of our job. I never thought that we would not lose a game, you can’t imagine that. It is normal to the process, sometimes it happens and it can help us improve.

“I am not here for the talk around me, I am here to do my job. It is October [and] you cannot imagine my team is already done. I am new here. So far it has been an amazing performance, but we need more, we have to work more, it is what it is.

“At the end of the season, you can win and still realise that you are not perfect.”

Frank Augstein/Associated Press

How City react to this setback will be key. The fact remains they are top of the Premier League and deservedly so.

Even in this game, which saw them well below their best, they still had chances towards the end and could have taken something. The defeat was a bitter one and will act as a wake-up call, but it's by no means a crisis, even coming so soon after the 3-3 draw with Celtic.

City have made huge strides under Guardiola, and for so much of the season, they have looked far superior to last term. They have more firepower than any side the league and a manager who will not allow his players to dip for any length of time.

The international break is well timed and gives Guardiola a chance to take stock before games with Everton and Barcelona.

Per Stuart Brennan of the Manchester Evening News, Zabaleta said:

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It's a wake-up call for who we are and where we are. 

When you play well and win all the games, people talk too much, and maybe now we can see, and they can see, that we are not invincible.

We are human and cannot play well every game. There are always teams that can play better than you, and that happened today.

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👏 "The connection was fantastic, our fans are unbelievable." 👏

Mauricio sings the praises of our fans and the atmopshere inside WHL! #COYS pic.twitter.com/nKYAjV81jq

— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) October 2, 2016"

City were well beaten by Tottenham, who look like serious Premier League title challengers. Mauricio Pochettino is a fine manager building something genuinely impressive, but any suggestion this is a sign of City's season going off the rails is wildly misplaced.

It's time for them to take stock and come back even better. The football they have produced in these opening weeks of the season suggests they will be very much in the hunt for silverware come the end of the season. Their defending, though, needs some work.

Rob Pollard is Bleacher Report's lead Manchester City correspondent and follows the club from a Manchester base. All quotes and information were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.

Follow him on Twitter @RobPollard_.