- Tottenham beat Manchester City 2-0 on Sunday in the Premier League
- Aleskandar Kolarov scored an own goal before Dele Alli added the second
- Pep Guardiola and City lost for the first time this season in all competitions
Pep Guardiola admitted Tottenham were ‘one step in front’ of his side as Manchester City’s perfect start to the Premier League season ended at White Hart Lane.
‘They were better, it can happen,’ he said. ‘They were one step in front of us today. We have to accept it and learn from that.
‘We lost a lot of balls in places that were dangerous. They won the second balls, we had problems with that. It was a little bit difficult to control.
‘They play with talent. We knew how aggressive they are, especially at home. Football is a process. In two or three years, my team will be better.’
Spurs moved to within one point of City at the top of the table and Guardiola believes they will once again challenge for the title.
He said: ‘They were fighting for the Premier League last season until the end. In the Premier League, there are many teams that can achieve (the title) and Tottenham are one of them.’
Pochettino said: ‘The performance was nearly perfect. When playing a great team like Manchester City, you need to do a fantastic job and I am very pleased and proud of the performance. I told you after (the loss to) Monaco at Wembley that I was very disappointed with the lack of passion.
‘I feel very pleased because our players showed a big commitment to the philosophy and the way we played was fantastic.
‘That is the attitude that we need to keep, to be consistent. But it is too early in the season to start to talk about aims. But if we can play like this today then why not (win the league)?
‘That was a good example today of the way we want to play.’