Have you ever seen a game quite like that? We don’t think so. Tottenham Hotspur have been troubled to say the least at home this season and the atmosphere as title challengers Manchester City rolled into town reflected that.
You could hear a pin drop inside the stadium, and that wasn’t helped when City went into the break 2-0 up.
Rayan Cherki opened the scoring before January signing Antoine Semenyo, who had been linked with Spurs, found the back of the net.
The booing as the players left the field at the break was the loudest we’d heard the crowd throughout the first 45 minutes but that soon changed.
Whatever Thomas Frank said to his men at the break worked wonders. City should have been out of sight before the second half started but Spurs rallied and, courtesy of a double from Dominic Solanke, somehow rescued a point.
Yves Bissouma’s performance vs Manchester City in numbers
Yves Bissouma can join his manager in saying this has been something of a nightmare campaign for him.
Left out of the Super Cup squad against PSG at the start of the season for disciplinary reasons, cited as ‘persistent lateness’, he’s barely kicked a ball since the Dane took over from Ange Postecoglou in the summer.
In fact, this was just his second start of the campaign and only his third appearance under Frank. Although he was bound to be rusty after several months on the periphery, his display against Pep Guardiola’s men was a fine example of why he’s played so little football in 2025/26.
Indeed, it was the midfielder who was to blame for the opener when he was dispossessed in the middle of the park. Erling Haaland was eventually given the ball and while he did not score, he played an assist to Cherki who comfortably found the corner of the goal.
It was a moment of play that Spurs fans have been all too familiar with when it comes to Bissouma. This was another moment in which he let his team down.
It was no surprise that with Spurs chasing the same, the Malian was brought off on 68 minutes having also been booked. He did completed 94% of his passes but didn’t do much with it, not even registering a shot, completing a dribble or providing a key pass for his teammates. He also only won two of his five duels.
That being said, Bissouma wasn’t the only man from a Lilywhites’ perspective who failed to set the world alight.
Spurs defender must be sold after Man City display
Bissouma was poor but he was not the only player to cost Frank’s side on Sunday. Indeed, another player on the periphery in the form of Radu Dragusin did not cover himself in glory.
Like his midfield colleague, he’s barely featured much at all this season as he recovered from an ACL injury. This was his first start of the campaign, having played just six minutes under Frank prior to this game and it was a baptism of fire.
Dragusin will no doubt have easier challengers than a match against Haaland but even so, he demonstrated exactly why he’s never really established himself as a leading option in north London.
Like Bissouma, Dragusin was at fault for the opening goal. Cherki received the ball on the edge of the area, but the Romanian didn’t do an awful lot to help his goalkeeper out.
The central defender laboured towards Cherki, didn’t get tight enough and allowed a free shot at goal which subsequently found the net.
It was a moment that rather typified Dragusin’s Spurs career. He’s been error-prone and with Luka Vuskovic set to return from a dazzling loan spell at Hamburg in the summer, there surely can’t be too many starts left for the Romania international on the books of Spurs.
Dragusin vs Man City
Minutes played
90
Touches
46
Accurate passes
31/36 (86%)
Key passes
0
Dribbles
0
Shots
0
Dribbled past
1x
Fouls
0
Ground duels won
1/2
Aerial duels won
0/2
Tackles
0
Interceptions
0
Clearances
4
Aged 23, the centre-back still has plenty of time left to develop but time is certainly something Frank doesn’t have much of.
Of course, Spurs are hit with several injury problems right now but Dragusin must be dropped as soon as Micky van de Ven returns to fitness. That doesn’t feel like an outrageous statement to make, but to quote Tottenham writer Mitch Fretton, he really was “absolutely dreadful” against City this weekend and doesn’t deserve a place in the team.he really was “absolutely dreadful”
If anything, Frank is better off not just removing him from the starting lineup but asking ENIC to sell him at the earliest convenience.
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