14 hours ago
21
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola was not happy about the awarding of a penalty to Monaco that cost them two Champions League points
Pep Guardiola swiped that he had 'nothing to say to Spanish referees' after more Champions League drama cost them two points.
The Manchester City manager had joked before the game about the performance of the match official in their 5-3 win over Monaco eight years ago in a classic Champions League tie. That particular referee, the Spaniard Antonio Mateu Lahoz, had more than one run-in with Guardiola during the course of his career.
But if Guardiola was all smiles on the eve of the game, that was wiped from his face as the awarding of a penalty to Eric Dier late in the contest sparked angry scenes on both benches. Seeing the melee that was unfolding, referee Jesus Gil Manzano had to leave the screen that was showing replays of the proposed penalty and dished out at least one red card to the Monaco dugout in chaotic scenes.
Erling Haaland said after the match that "if you kick someone in the face it’s going to be a penalty" as he faced up to the reality of his two first-half goals not being enough for City to win the game. However, while Guardiola would not comment on the issue the Catalan referenced Spanish referees before complimenting his team for their performance.
"Nothing to say to Spanish referees," he said. "We played a really good game.
"We always try to create more chances and concede few and that's what happened. They have fast players with their physicality so strong, but we conceded few and we created a lot of chances considering it is the Champions League and I'm really pleased for that.
"Of course, we were close but at the end we could not defend the free-kick well and we conceded the penalty.
"In football you have to win with the result. If you analyse the game there were many things that were good.
"Step by step we will be better but we had many chances and Phil [Foden] in the first half and many players played really good. We conceded almost nothing.
"When it's close, you have to defend and we take the point."
---
Here at the Manchester Evening News, we’re dedicated to bringing you the best Manchester City coverage and analysis.
Make sure you don’t miss out on the latest City news by joining our free WhatsApp group. You can get all the breaking news and best analysis sent straight to your phone by clicking here to subscribe.
You can also subscribe to our free newsletter service. Click here to be sent all the day’s biggest stories.
And finally, if you’d rather listen to our expert analysis then make sure to check out our Talking City podcast. Our shows are available on all podcast platforms, including Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and you can also watch along on YouTube.
English (US) ·