Pep Guardiola's problem with Spurs goal against Man City - 'Emotional issue'

Pep Guardiola thought that Manchester City were in control until they conceded a goal that he did not think should have been allowed

Pep Guardiola said that 'nothing had changed' his opinion of referees after being frustrated again at a major decision in Manchester City's draw with Tottenham. The Blues were two goals to the good but threw their advantage away in a second half that involved a contentious goal.

Dominic Solanke kicked the back of Marc Guehi's leg as the City defender got himself in the way of the ball in the penalty box, with that force helping to send the ball off Guehi and into the back of the net. The incident was checked, although no foul was confirmed by VAR after checks and the initial decision stood.

Spurs roared on, having thought they were out of the contest, and earned an equaliser when Conor Gallagher bypassed two City players too easily and swung in a cross that Solanke caught with the outside of his boot to send it looping over Gianluigi Donnarumma. City did come back to try to find a winner, but did not really go close to getting a third.

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It continued a trend of City playing poorly in the second half of games, but Guardiola believed that their downward spiral in this game only started with the penalty. The City coach used the example of reversed roles to make his point that a foul should have been given.

"If a central defender does it to a striker it's a penalty," he said. "After that in the second half for 10-15 minutes they had the control but the moment they started to put one more player there and win one or two second balls and after that they created the momentum and then after the goal they had 10 or 15 minutes, but we kept going.

"They had two or three free-kicks from (Xavi) Simons but the rest was good. We found in transitions the players we wanted to run but we missed in the final third a little bit. We started really well except one transition action that Gigio saved, we started the second half really well but it was the goal that changed a little bit.

"It happens in the Premier League today, sometimes we can control it but it’s the way the game here in England is being played, so it happens sometimes. We know we cannot control it all the time, of course if it was 0-3 or 0-4, but we have a lot of new players. It’s actions, we have to try to finish the actions a little bit better but the game was well played and sometimes with long balls, second balls, sometimes you miss it.

"I would prefer not to have the transitions but it’s an emotional issue for the first goal that the referees concede to Spurs and after that the momentum is difficult to control whatever happens here in England."