Guardiola takes swipe at ref after "strange" Man City woe continues at Tottenham
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola asked questions of the refereeing after his team lost more ground in the title race with defeat to Antonio Conte's team.
Reigning champions City were given an opening on Saturday, with Everton claiming a 1-0 victory over league leaders Arsenal. They failed to take advantage, though, with a record-breaking goal from Harry Kane giving Spurs all three points at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
The result continued a worrying run for Guardiola at the ground, with his team losing five games out of five and failing to score in any of those matches. And the Catalan coach admitted it was a familiar story on Sunday.
"How many years have I been doing this [interviews]?" Guardiola said when pressed by Match of the Day on fouls on his players. "How many times has the referee been here? "
"We started really well, as usually happens against Tottenham home and away, but after we made a mistake they punished us," the manager said in separate comments to Sky Sports. "[At] 1-0 down it is different, we had chances, and of course when we lose balls in transition with Kulusevski and Son, it is not easy. We dropped three points.
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"Most of the time, yeah," he said when asked if the City players followed his plan, "But it is not easy when 10 players defend, and sit back a little bit more than in the Etihad two weeks ago. We played good, started well and missed maybe the last pass, to shoot.
"Sooner or later it [the record away to Spurs] is going to change, but it is strange we haven't scored one goal, we have missed penalties in the past. To find an explanation is not easy."
Did Guardiola get things wrong against Spurs? Have your say in the comments section
Kevin De Bruyne started on the bench for City (Getty Images)Spurs' first game against City at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium came in 2019 in the quarter-finals of the Champions League. Son Heung-min scored the only goal that day, after Sergio Aguero missed a chance to put City ahead from the penalty spot.
Before the latest meeting, Guardiola surprised some with his decision to leave Kevin De Bruyne out of the starting line-up. The Belgian was introduced for the final half-hour as City looked for a way back into the game, but Spurs held firm despite Cristian Romero being sent off for two bookable offences.
"I wanted him for the last pass, to find between the lines, he can make one of these actions and that was the reason," Guardiola said.
Harry Kane scored the only goal of the game on Sunday (Getty Images)Spurs' last four victories over Guardiola's City have come with four different men in the dugout. After winning under Jose Mourinho, Nuno Espirito Santo and Antonio Conte, this win came with Cristian Stellini standing in as Conte recovers from gallbladder surgery.
The London side boosted their own top four hopes with the victory. They now sit just one point behind fourth-place Newcastle, who drew at home to West Ham on Saturday evening.
City's next game sees them host Aston Villa on February 12, with the first of their two league meetings with Arsenal following three days later. Spurs, meanwhile, travel to Leicester on Wednesday before following that up with the first leg of their Champions League last 16 tie against AC Milan.
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