Pep breaks his silence after the defeat at Etihad

Manchester City suffered a 0-2 loss to Tottenham, and the focus after the match was not only on the result but also on Pep Guardiola's decision to continue trusting young goalkeeper James Trafford instead of Ederson.

In the previous round, James Trafford made an impressive debut for Man City by keeping a clean sheet in a 4-0 victory over Wolves. His reliability in goal and ability to initiate attacks with precise passes earned the 22-year-old goalkeeper praise from Pep Guardiola. This convinced the coach to let Trafford start again when hosting Tottenham, despite Ederson being back on the team sheet.

However, things did not go as hoped. Trafford made mistakes, and Man City lost 0-2 to a tough Spurs side. This immediately sparked debates both within the club and among experts, especially given the uncertain future of Ederson.

In the post-match press conference after the loss to Tottenham, Pep Guardiola denied that Ederson was excluded from the starting lineup due to a possible departure from the club. He emphasized that the decision to give Trafford the chance was based on his convincing performance against Wolves and highlighted the rotation policy he always applies early in the season.

Pep Guardiola said: “James had a very good game against Wolves, so I decided to keep using him. The goalkeeper position is special, requiring consistency, but at the start of the season, I want all players to have the opportunity to play. That doesn’t mean this is a fixed starting lineup. With a busy schedule, everyone will get playing time”.

Previously, Pep Guardiola repeatedly stated that Ederson remains Man City's number one goalkeeper, even though the club spent £27 million to bring Trafford back from Burnley after two years away from Etihad. Notably, Galatasaray is keen to sign Ederson as the Brazilian keeper’s contract with Man City has less than a year remaining. If the deal goes through, the Premier League champions are considering replacing him with Gianluigi Donnarumma, Italy’s first-choice keeper who is currently out of favor at PSG.

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