Pep Guardiola has said that Manchester City deserved to get all three points against Tottenham Hotspur, insisting that they were better in all departments.
It was a proverbial game of two halves at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday, with Spurs being quite lucky to get into the interval just 2-1 down, with the home side missing a flurry of chances.
However, Tottenham came out with much more purpose in the second half and were much more decisive on the ball.
Ange Postecoglou’s men fought back to level twice, with Giovani Lo Celso making it 2-2 on 69 minutes before Dejan Kulusevski levelled the scores again on 90 minutes after Jack Grealish had put City back in front again.
There was a controversial moment in injury time as the referee blew for a foul on Erling Haaland instead of playing advantage when Grealish seemed to be in on goal.
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Mikel Arteta catches a stray from Pep Guardiola
The City players were furious with the decision and Guardiola admitted that he did not understand why Simon Hooper blew the whistle.
When asked about the incident, the Spanish coach told Sky Sports (03/12/23 from 18:45): “Next question. I will not do a Mikel Arteta comment. It is hard when you review the image, the referee decides to blow the whistle after he has already said to play on. After the pass, the whistle, so I do not understand this action.”
Guardiola remarked that his side dominated proceedings against ‘a really good team’, suggesting that they were unlucky not to get the win.
He added: “It was a good game, that is the most important thing. 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.
“We created a lot of chances, we were aggressive, incredibly concentrated, and the feeling is that we still want to be there [at the top of the table]. It is a pity. Sometimes football is like life, you do not get what you deserve.”
Spurs Web Opinion
City arguably should have won the game comfortably as Spurs were extremely sloppy in the first half, with too many individual errors being made by our defenders and midfielders.
However, the character and mental resolve we showed to come out in the second half and take the game to City was brilliant to see and Postecoglou was rewarded for his brave approach.
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