Taylor ‘made wrong calls’

PEP GUARDIOLA admitted he was furious with his Champions League winner Rodri for his red card in the 2-0 win over Nottingham Forest but he also blamed referee Anthony Taylor for his handling of the game.

City played for nearly the entire second half with 10 men in a game in which Taylor made 11 bookings – including Guardiola himself – in addition to Rodri’s red.

And with Rodri now facing a three-match ban, including a trip to Arsenal next month, for grabbing Morgan Gibbs-White around the throat, Guardiola was furious with the Spanish star.

‘Yes,’ said the City boss when asked if he was angry with Rodri. ‘I don’t like to play with 10 when it is our fault.

‘Hopefully Rodri will learn. The game was perfect for 35 minutes, both teams trying and, after that, it became a little bit chaos. That wasn’t our responsibility, that’s for sure.

‘But Rodri has to control himself and his emotions. Because I can get a yellow card, because I don’t play. But Rodri can’t. You have to be careful.’

And the City manager did not sound enthusiastic – or hopeful of success – when asked if his club would appeal.

‘I don’t know – a question for the club,’ he said. ‘I think Rodri has to learn. I’m not saying it wasn’t a red card. Other things made the situation different.’

Those ‘other things’ came mostly from the performance of referee Taylor.

And though City eventually maintained their perfect start to the season, it was in fractious circumstances that Guardiola clearly believed stemmed from Taylor’s handling of the game.

The City boss also explained that his booking came after complaining about a yellow card handed to Manuel Akanji, after Forest’s Willy Boly had earlier escaped a card for an almost identical foul.

‘Absolutely. The referee changed the game,’ said Guardiola. ‘I don’t know why the first action wasn’t a yellow card. And the first action (for City) was. I don’t understand.

‘The first minute, there was an action when Erling Haaland goes alone to the goal and it (should be) a foul and a yellow card. And yet for the first action we get a yellow card.

‘But I’m sorry, it’s not the first season, it’s eight years here and we know each other quite well. Really really well.’

The second half saw an animated Guardiola try to inspire the crowd from the touchline and brought a red-hot atmosphere to a game that had previously appeared to be heading for a comfortable City win.