Pep Guardiola was left frustrated once again by a refereeing decision as Manchester City lost ground in the Premier League title race after a chaotic 2-2 draw at Tottenham.
The City manager complained that the Spurs goal for 2-1, which sparked an outlandish second-half comeback, should not have stood. Dominic Solanke kicked through the back of the City defender Marc Guéhi, the ball then going in but neither the referee nor the VAR felt there was enough in it for a foul to be given.
Solanke went on to volley a stunning equaliser to give Spurs and their embattled manager, Thomas Frank, a lift and leave City six points behind the leaders, Arsenal.
It was put to Guardiola that Solanke had clearly kicked Guéhi. “OK, then you make the answer [for me],” Guardiola said. “If it’s a central defender to a striker it’s a penalty, right? You said the same, so you saw it.”
Guardiola told BBC Radio 5 Live that it was “fascinating in the Premier League”. He later added in his press conference that “there was an emotional issue for the first goal that the referee conceded to Spurs … and after that, the momentum is difficult to control, whatever happens here in England.”
Guardiola has complained about a number of decisions in recent weeks. He was unhappy that an Antoine Semenyo goal was ruled out at Newcastle in the Carabao Cup, how Manchester United’s Diogo Dalot avoided a red card in the derby for a studs-up foul on Jérémy Doku, and why City were denied a penalty against Wolves for handball.
Guardiola was asked about the wider picture. “Nothing changed the opinion I had in the past,” he said. Even Frank appeared to have some sympathy for Guardiola on the Solanke first goal.
“There’s clear contact from him [Solanke] on it,” Frank said. “We want, in general, a higher threshold [for fouls]. I understand it’s in the grey area. The Liverpool goal by Hugo Ekitiké [against Spurs on 20 December] was in my opinion still two clear hands in the back of Cristian Romero. So it’s no grey areas [there]. I’m just very happy it finally dropped for us, which I think was more than fair.”
Frank, who was without 11 players because of injury, lost Romero to illness at half-time. Solanke has only recently returned from long-term injury and could not complete the full game. The 17-year-old centre-back, Jun’ai Byfield, came on for him in the 89th minute and played at right-midfield on his league debut.
“This team’s ability to respond to setbacks and show resilience is growing bit by bit,” Frank said. “It’s game 11 since Nottingham Forest [when Spurs lost 3-0 on 14 December] and we are showing more consistency. We are more competitive. It’s going in the right direction.”
