The first half of Manchester City’s Premier League match against Tottenham bore one headline and nothing else: the technical disasters of Pep Guardiola’s goalkeeper, James Trafford.
City signed Trafford earlier this summer from Burnley for €27 million, as part of Guardiola’s desire to make a complete change in the goalkeeping position, which included the departures of Ederson and Stevan Ortega.
Trafford played well in City’s first match against Wolverhampton Wanderers, but his performance against Tottenham was disastrous.
There are suggestions that Trafford deserved to be shown a red card in the first half for a violent tackle on one of Tottenham’s stars, but VAR did not review the footage, sparking considerable controversy.
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The first goal was scored by Brennan Johnson, and Trafford bears part of the responsibility, as the ball touched him and he failed to clear it. But Trafford’s worst performance was undoubtedly the second goal. He misjudged a pass inside the penalty area and was immediately punished by Palencia, who handed Tottenham their second goal in the final minute of the first half.
Guardiola is known to always prioritize a goalkeeper who is good with his feet. What was evident in the first half against Tottenham, not just in the goal but also in other scenes, was that Trafford wasn’t the best in this regard, and his saves didn’t even make up for that.
Perhaps Trafford’s performance against Spurs could lead to one of two outcomes: either that City’s management will move to acquiesce to Paris Saint-Germain’s financial demands to sign Gianluigi Donnarumma, or that they will retain Ederson and return to being the first-choice goalkeeper despite Galatasaray’s strong interest in him.
