Rayan Cherki showing vs Tottenham might cement a clear role for Man City signing

Manchester City were beaten 2-0 by Tottenham at the Etihad as their bright start to the Premier League season stalled.

Rayan Cherki has more impact off the bench for Manchester City

Manchester City saw their opening day optimism punctured as they were beaten 2-0 by Tottenham Hotspur at the Etihad Stadium.

Pep Guardiola's side had shown signs of being back to their imperious best in thrashing Wolves 4-0 last week, but they returned to Earth with a bump after being comfortably beaten by Spurs.

City went behind when Brennan Johnson rounded off a slick counterattack and they doubled that advantage before the break. James Trafford was at fault as his poor pass allowed Joao Palhinha to score from close range.

The Blues produced a flat second half as they struggled to muster a reponse and they never threatened to reel in Thomas Frank's side.

Cherki's impact

A pattern is already emerging in Rayan Cherki's brief Manchester City career. As a substitute against Al-Ain, Al-Hilal and Wolves, he has looked electric. Two goals and an assist in 63 minutes sum up his impact in those games.

He has been introduced and lit up proceedings with his close control, his ability to manoeuvre the ball and that two-footedness that leaves defenders guessing as to his next move.

But throw him in from the start and it's a different story. That conjuror's bags of tricks is harder to open from the get go by the looks of things and this was an ineffectual 54 minutes before he was replaced by Bernardo Silva.

Cherki was given the keys to the attack as the No. 10, in shirt number and position, but he struggled to create and was bypassed for much of the game. He might be back to that super sub role at Brighton next week.

Toure celebrates

Kolo Toure is a bubbling ball of enthusiasm on the touchline and while Guardiola and Pep Lijnders try and work on the tactical detail, it is often Toure who is cajoling players and jumping up and down.

He clearly has plenty of passion and when the flag went up after Brennan Johnson's first-half goal the former City centre-back raised both arms in the air in celebration, presumably at the joy of the goal being ruled out for an offside plan coming off.

But that joy was short lived. After the first replay Thomas Frank's staff were giving the thumbs up to Tottenham players on the pitch and Toure was suddenly sat down fearing the worst.

He has plenty to offer in this new coaching set-up and as frustrating as it might have been to have his celebration cut short, he is a watchable presence on the touchline.

Haaland turns provider

It's no surprise that Omar Marmoush and Erling Haaland can play together, having done so several times last season. It was often in this shape as well, with the Egyptian starting on the left and drifting into dangerous positions, with Haaland stationed as the No. 9.

In the first half against Tottenham it was Marmoush that found the space, however, firing off three shots while Haaland struggled to find space to threaten in the area. Marmoush almost scored from a tight angle and then stung the palms of Guglielmo Vicario with a drive from distance.

But his third chance was the best and it came from superb work from Haaland, who picked the ball up wide on the right and used a combination of force and skill to get infield, before playing a lovely pass through the defence for Marmoush. He should have scored that chance, but instead saw it saved by Vicario again.

Selection hints

With City's transfer window there was nearly as much fascination in the teamsheet landing as there was in the football starting and again those selections dropped a few hints.

The absence of Manuel Akjanji and Ilkay Gundogan from the matchday 20 was another message to both that their time is up and they should look to move on over the next week.

Equally as interesting was the decision to put Ederson on the bench and keep faith with James Trafford. Guardiola made it clear before and after the win against Wolves that the Brazilian was still his No. 1, but this suggested otherwise.

Where does that leave Ederson? PSG gave Gianluigi Donnarumma a big send-off on Friday even though the Italian doesn't appear to have a move sorted out. Do they know something we don't?