Manchester City’s match with Tottenham certainly lived up to the pre-match hype after a thrilling 3-3 draw at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.
This does not mean that Erling Haaland was very happy after referee Simon Hooper deprived Jack Grealish of the opportunity to score the winning goal in stoppage time for the defending English Premier League champion, with an ambiguous decision.
The Norway international reacted angrily when the referee’s whistle blew for a previous foul committed against him while Grealish appeared to be about to run towards goal.
City coach Pep Guardiola said afterwards: “He is a little disappointed,” and added: “Even the referee, if he played for Manchester City today, would have been disappointed by this behavior, that is for sure.”
Haaland was brought down by Tottenham defender Emerson Royle as City searched for a winner following Dejan Kulusevski’s 90th-minute equaliser. But as the striker regained his feet, Hooper appeared to signal play to continue, with Haaland firing a pass to Grealish. Then the referee blew his whistle, angering the home team fans and City players.
Haaland went on to express his frustration with what happened in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, when responding to a video of the incident.
Guardiola was asked to comment on the referee’s decision in his post-match press conference, and he was more circumspect in his response.
Guardiola said: “I don’t want to criticize him (the referee). “On the touchline sometimes I lose my mind and my movements are not appropriate… but I would like to say that we did not equalize for this (reason).”
City were twice ahead in the game and appeared to have scored the winner when Grealish came off the bench to make it 3-2 in the 81st minute.
Kulusevski’s goal gave Tottenham a point and City tied for the third time in a row in the league, leaving Guardiola’s team three points away from league leaders Arsenal in third place. Liverpool, which beat Fulham 4-3, is one point ahead of second-placed City.
Son Heung-min gave Tottenham the lead in the sixth minute, but he put the ball into his own net three minutes later, and then Phil Foden scored in the 31st minute.
Giovani Lo Celso equalized in the 69th minute, before Grealish and Kulusevski scored two goals.
City’s recent campaign, which did not achieve any wins in the league, saw them concede eight goals in three matches, after a 4-4 draw with Chelsea and a 1-1 draw against Liverpool.
“Football is about mistakes sometimes, but we are still there,” Guardiola said. “After so many years we still have the feeling that we want it (the title).”
Tottenham ended their recent three-game losing streak, which saw them drop from first to sixth in the standings.
Coach Ange Postecoglou said: “We were not at our usual level in the first half, and Manchester City could have outperformed us during that period.” “They wasted some chances, a lot like us last week to be honest.”
“We hung in there and the second half was much better. We had more belief and conviction and made it more annoying for them. Massive effort from the players, it was very easy to be impressed, but I think they showed great character and it’s important they get the reward. The point is Good reward.”
2023-12-04 00:48:40
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