Nathan Ake admits Tottenham loss handed harsh reality check to Manchester City | OneFootball

Manchester City’s Nathan Ake believes he and his teammates were handed a firm reminder about the Premier League through their defeat to Tottenham.

City were outrun, outperformed and outclassed by a determined Tottenham side at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday as Thomas Frank’s men picked up a deserved 2-0 win and served City’s first defeat of the 2025-26 campaign.

Fresh from a strong start to their league season with a 4-0 beating of Wolves, Manchester City made an encouraging start to the game at the weekend but it seemed all too familiar for Pep Guardiola’s side, who were the architects of their own downfall and conceded two very avoidable goals in the first half to effectively lose the game.

A high line and failed offside trap saw Richarlison set up Brennan Johnson for the opener not long after Rayan Ait-Nouri was hauled off with an ankle injury, with Ake replacing the £31 million summer signing from Wolves.

James Trafford, who returned to Manchester City this summer after two seasons at Burnley, retained his place in goal for the Blues after keeping a clean sheet on his first senior appearance for his boyhood club at the Molineux Stadium last week.

However, the 22-year-old was given a harsh welcome to life in the Premier League as he played a dangerous pass at the edge of his box to the under-pressure Nico Gonzalez, who was dispossessed and in no time were Tottenham gifted their second of the afternoon.

City have made a series of high-profile additions to their squad over the summer and despite a promising look to their newlook squad over pre-season, the manner of their defeat to Tottenham served as a timely reminder that the Premier League has no room for below-par.

Speaking to Manchester City’s official channels after the defeat to Tottenham, while Ake was keen to speak about the struggles in his side’s performance, there were clear admiration for the visitors after their dominant showing at the Etihad Stadium.

“They (Tottenham) played very well. They are a very good team with a very good manager (Frank). We couldn’t really play out and that’s one of the main things,” Ake said.

“Maybe we should have looked more forward and try to create that way. Fair play to them (Tottenham) but work to do for us. They pressed us really high and at certain points we tried to play out, but we couldn’t and that made us very uncomfortable. It’s not an easy game to play.

“It reminds us that the Premier League is very tough, and every day is a fight. It doesn’t matter what you did last week – you have to continue into the new week.

“Every team is top. We have to work hard again, make sure we get better and prepare for Brighton. We have to go again.”