Man City players have given Pep Guardiola the perfect response to Tottenham defeat

There was little shortage of Manchester City players fronting up after their shock defeat to Tottenham.

As Pep Guardiola was speaking to various broadcasters at the side of the pitch about the 3-2 loss, so too were Ilkay Gundogan, Rodri, and Aymeric Laporte. And, having not shared a post-match discussion in the dressing room, they all came out with strikingly similar things.

Rodri lamented the fact that Spurs had made City pay a heavy price for any mistakes on the day, using supreme efficiency and a clinical nature to become the first Premier League team to score three goals against them this season.

Laporte agreed, but also reminded everyone that this was one off-day in what has so far been a season better than anyone else's. City remain at the top of the table and in control of the title race because of their performances over 26 games rather than one (or two) against an inspired Tottenham side.

With Liverpool a hot topic as they made inroads on the leaders, Gundogan made the point that the Blues have been here before and know what to do - including needing to beat Jurgen Klopp's side at the Etihad to fuel a push for the title.

Guardiola likes to see how his players react when things don't go their way because that is where he sees the real leaders and characters in the group. At the same time though, the squad have been together for so many years that the manager doesn't need to pay attention to everything to know what the responses will be.

City used every ounce of their experience and professionalism to hold Liverpool off in the 2018/19 title race and claim back-to-back titles, and those same qualities have been seen in abundance in recent weeks.

Guardiola was as unruffled by the Tottenham defeat as he was when