Pep Guardiola Says Tottenham Have Proved Him Wrong, Not 'The Harry Kane Team'

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has said he was wrong in his assessment of Tottenham Hotspur's depth last season and said the north Londoners are not "the Harry Kane team" he once suggested.

Guardiola made that comment in September 2017, noting how Spurs relied heavily on England star Kane, but he said in the buildup to Monday's Premier League meeting at Wembley Stadium: "They've shown me how wrong I was."

City sit third, two points and two places above Tottenham, heading into Monday's match. Guardiola went on to hail Mauricio Pochettino's side as contenders for the league crown and illustrated the importance of this clash: 

"When you play against contenders, it's almost six points. The three points you win and the three points your opponent doesn't win.

"I don't know what happened in the last decade of history in the Premier League but it is true that it looks like the strong teams make a lot of points. They don't drop a lot of points. That's why the games against contenders become so important.

"But nothing is going to change because at the end, Southampton at home is the same points as Tottenham."

Kane has tended to struggle for scoring form at the start of a season, but he ended his August scoring drought this term and netted in wins over Manchester United and Fulham that month.

Journalist Sam Lee posted footage of the portion of Guardiola's press conference—where he conceded he was wrong in his judgment last year—but questioned if the retraction was genuine:

Kane has scored five times in nine league outings this season and has seven goals in 12 appearances across all competitions. Despite taking longer to score his first league goal last term, he had netted 13 times in 12 appearances at this stage of the last campaign.

Spurs are better off as a team this time around and have produced 21 points from their first nine games of the season, one more than the 20 they had at this stage of the last campaign.

Guardiola's City, on the other hand, are two points worse off now than they were after playing nine matches last term. A win at Wembley would take them back to the top of the table, however, level on points with Liverpool but with a substantial advantage in goal difference.

Pochettino responded to Guardiola's "Harry Kane team" comments in December 2017 and said he and the Spaniard enjoyed a "very good relationship" that wouldn't be disrupted by the apparent criticism:

Kane hasn't hit the target as frequently so far this term, but Spurs have been able to rely on other figures to find the back of the net and have seven players with Premier League goals to their name in 2018-19.

City's tally is more balanced across the board. Sergio Aguero leads the way with six scored in nine league outings, but the champions have scored via 11 different players in the top flight this season.

A home victory on Monday would see Spurs climb above City and up to third in the standings, level on points with Chelsea.