Pep Guardiola said he will not join his former assistant Mikel Arteta in a public diatribe against officials after Manchester City’s 3-3 draw with Tottenham on Sunday.
When referee Simon Hooper stopped the game in stoppage time to award Guardiola’s team a free-kick just as Jack Grealish was coming down on goal, City were denied a huge chance to win the match.
The decision elicited a rage from City players and Guardiola on the sidelines.
Erling Haaland may face repercussions for criticizing the call on social media.
Guardiola, on the other hand, kept his cool in front of the media.
Arsenal manager Arteta called Newcastle’s winning goal against his team last month a “disgrace” and “embarrassing” decision for the Premier League.
Arteta faces a Football Association charge for his remarks, which Arsenal backed up in a statement.
“On to the next question.” When asked about the incident, Guardiola remarked, “I will not make a Mikel Arteta comment.”
“It’s difficult to review the image. After saying to play on, the referee decided to sound the whistle.
“After the pass, the whistle, so I do not understand this action.”
City has now failed to win three straight Premier League games for the first time in almost six years, following draws against Chelsea and Liverpool.
Guardiola’s team was forced to pay for both offensive and defensive mistakes.
Spurs captain Son Heung-min scored twice in the first ten minutes.
City then went on to dominate the first half, but all they had to show for it was Phil Foden’s goal.
Tottenham fought back after the half, with Giovani Lo Celso scoring 20 minutes from time.
Grealish appeared to have handed City the lead, but Dejan Kulusevski’s 90th-minute strike salvaged a point for Ange Postecoglou’s men.
Despite a growing injury list and the threat of City, Postecoglou claimed he will stick to his aggressive style.
And the Australian confessed that City’s wastefulness in front of goal let them off the hook in the first half.
“We were fortunate to be in it by halftime.” “City could have blown us away during that period,” Postecoglou added.
“We weren’t up to our standards, and City will do that to you; they are unbelievable.”
“Second half we had more belief in ourselves and the team we want to be and we clawed our way back into the game.”
City have now lost five of their past eight Premier League games, and they go to Aston Villa on Wednesday.
Guardiola, on the other hand, refused to panic, defending his players’ performance.
“It was a pity, same as the Liverpool game, I had the feeling that today that we made an incredible performance in all departments, against a really good team and manager and how they play,” Guardiola said.
“We created a lot of chances, we were aggressive, we were incredibly focused, and we still want to be there (at the top of the table).”
“Sometimes football is like life, you do not get what you deserve.”