With his baggy green trousers on, the injured Ruben Dias was out on the pitch when everything had finished at Tottenham. Shaking his head with team-mates, holding debriefs. Wondering where it all went wrong again.
Manchester City can point to refereeing decisions having impacted another game, and argue they were on the duff end of the deal as Arsenal finished the weekend six points clear. But it cannot detract from the worrying trend that has taken hold for much of the season, and even more prominently over the last month.
In the second half of matches, City are not the same team. Something is happening at half-time. Since the turn of the year – and discounting the record win over Exeter City – they are leading games 8-2 on aggregate before the break. And losing 7-3 after it.
Nine games and a clear pattern. Pep Guardiola has held discussions with his backroom staff about it but doesn’t appear to be able to put his finger on why City drop off. Or if he knows, hasn’t divulged it publicly. On Sunday night, he suggested that any half-time tweaks would appear strange given that his team are starting games so well.
And he’s right in that – especially down at Tottenham, where City led by two and everybody in the stadium felt victory was already sewn up.
Thomas Frank discussed the idea that all the 50-50s were beginning to fall for Spurs after City had won them all earlier and perhaps he was being kind in that assessment: his team were all over the second balls, first to everything with greater purpose.
Pep Guardiola struggles to find the answers as his Manchester City side crumble again in the second half against Spurs on Sunday
Antoine Semenyo bossed the game in the first half but was ineffective in the second
That is a decent sign of how City struggle. And it comes alongside less authority and less assurance on the ball, a habit they cannot kick.
The knock-on effect of not retaining possession well enough, not crisply knocking it about as they so regularly manage in the first half, is a ceding of ball, control and territory. Gianluigi Donnarumma’s shot-stopping excellence then becomes more apparent with each passing week.
The same happened against Wolves recently, and Galatasaray. While both had presentable chances to force a way back into those games, neither could punish City in a way that all of Chelsea, Brighton, Manchester United and now Spurs have. Of those four Premier League games, City dropped seven points in the second half. A reminder: they are six behind Arsenal.
The only complete second-half performance of 2026 came at Newcastle United in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final, with the return coming on Wednesday. Eddie Howe ought to be telling his players to make sure they stay within two goals for as long as possible and the chances will come at the Etihad.
Guardiola did agree that this is a theme on Sunday, although argued that the momentum shifted down at Spurs given the circumstances around Dominic Solanke’s first goal. He’s not offered up any theories but there is potential mitigation in the number of injuries and lack of match sharpness.
This is the youngest team of Guardiola’s tenure and it wouldn’t be a shock if they weren’t quite sure how to respond when presented with tactical differences by the opposition.
Daniel Farke switching to a back three in a bonkers game with Leeds United in November, when City were bailed out by Phil Foden’s stoppage-time winner after surrendering a two-goal lead, is a pertinent example.
Thomas Frank’s side dominated City physically in the second half on Sunday, winning every second ball and 50-50
Dominic Solanke seals Tottenham’s second-half comeback with his audacious scorpion goal
And then there is emotional stability. Guardiola was drawn on that on Sunday and it brought Fulham to mind. Another mad night, City 5-1 up with half an hour left and almost ending up dropping points.
‘What happened in the last games was we didn’t control well the second half,’ Rodri said. ‘And this is what happens when you don’t control well – you can end up drawing. Unfortunately, there was a big mistake from the referees in the first goal that shouldn’t have counted, and I think this affected us too much.’
Guardiola talked about the emotion of Solanke’s first goal and intimated that it engulfed City. This was an issue during the early years of his reign, City not reacting to setbacks well enough, and that it’s crept back in is probably down to the new-look squad.
‘In the last games we were not consistent with the ball,’ Guardiola said. He didn’t add ‘in second halves’ but he might as well as done. It’s a habit City need to snap. And fast.
