Manchester City winger Raheem Sterling delivered his verdict on his side’s disappointing 1-0 loss to Tottenham in the opening tie of the new Premier League campaign.
Pep Guardiola’s men met an eerily similar fate in north London on Sunday afternoon, and despite controlling the game for large stretches, City finished the day with their first strike in the loss column for the new season after Heung-Min Son’s finish in the 55th minute sealed a narrow win for the hosts.
Following the frustrating defeat to Nuno Espirito Santo’s side, Sterling spoke after the match and revealed his thoughts on the opened day defeat, having come into the starting XI after an impressive showing in the European Championships.
“We (City) probably could have controlled it a bit better, we let them (Tottenham) counter a bit, which was exactly what they wanted to do,” said Sterling in a post-match interview with Sky Sports, as quoted by Football Daily.
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“They (Tottenham) have done the most important thing in football and put the ball in the back of the net. And we couldn’t do that.
“It’s a difficult one to take, but it’s a long season. We (City) were on the front foot, they (Tottenham) kept getting small counters. We should have controlled them a bit better. We’ll bounce back.”
One positive to take for City fans is that the club’s new record-signing Jack Grealish did impress throughout the clash, with Sterling looking forward to his partnership with the former Aston Villa star to blossom.
READ MORE: Five things we learned from Manchester City’s 1-0 defeat against Tottenham
The 26-year-old forward said: “I’ve played with Jack (Grealish) a few times, it’s a good one (partnership). It’s still early days and we’ll learn each other’s game over the season and hopefully we can play a lot more together.
“It’s always difficult to start with a defeat. It’s a long road, we’ll keep focussed and try to bounce back.”
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