The Manchester City manager declined to comment after the 2-2 Champions League draw against Monaco on the late VAR drama and referee Jesus Gil Manzano’s performance in the match.
Manchester City suffered a setback on the second day of the League Phase. Just when it seemed that the Cityzens were going to leave Monaco with all three points, Nico Gonzalez kicked Eric Dier in the face inside the box and, after reviewing the VAR, Spanish referee Jesus Gil Manzano decided to award a penalty, which Eric Dier converted to secure a draw for the home side.
Sky Blues manager Pep Guardiola did not seem happy with the decision, as he felt that Nico Gonzalez touched the ball before it hit the Monaco centre-back in the face.
“It was a really good game; we created a lot of chances, unfortunately at the end we defend an unfair free kick not perfectly and we concede a penalty where [Nico] touches the ball first… it is what it is,” he said.
“Nothing to say to Spanish referees,” he said when asked about the refereeing. “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,” he added.
“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,” he concluded.
