Pep fights back after City keep seeing red
PEP Guardiola was tetchy and sarcastic as he struggled to hide the strain of his turbulent start in England on Monday, claiming officials routinely treated his side harshly.
City rose to third in the Premier League, two points off Liverpool, with a 2-1 win at home against Burnley, despite playing for almost an hour with 10 men after midfielder Fernandinho’s third red card in six matches.
It was City’s seventh red card in 30 matches in all competitions this season, but Sean Dyche, the Burnley manager, felt Guardiola’s side should have received an eighth and finished the game with nine men, after Bacary Sagna escaped with a booking for kicking George Boyd following Ben Mee’s goal for the visiting team.
But Guardiola did little to mask his contempt for referee Lee Mason’s decision to dismiss Fernandinho for a two-footed lunge on Johann Berg Gudmundsson, and was furious that Burnley’s goal was not ruled out for what he felt was a foul on goalkeeper Claudio Bravo.
“It is always our fault,” Guardiola said. “All around the world, it’s a foul on the goalkeeper in the box. Not here. I have to understand that.”
Guardiola was even more brusque on the subject of Fernandinho, who will miss the FA Cup third-round tie at West Ham United on Friday, as well as league matches against Everton, Tottenham and West Ham. “The referee, ask [that] to him, not me,” the City manager said.
Guardiola offered a sarcastic response when asked if he felt the need to speak to his players about their discipline, given their surfeit of red cards this term. City have had six in the Premier League, twice as many as the next worst offenders.
“Yes, [from] the team with the most ball possession,” Guardiola said. “We had a lot of disciplinary problems. Now we expect what the FA decide.”
Pressed on Fernandinho’s challenge, Guardiola added: “I didn’t see it. But I saw the foul for Claudio Bravo, that was definite. Now we are going to accept the three or four games [for Fernandinho]. But remember, it was a foul on Bravo.”
With Ilkay Gundogan already ruled out for the rest of the season with a cruciate knee ligament injury, Fernandinho’s absence is likely to force Guardiola to deploy Fernando or Pablo Zabaleta in central midfield.
“Yes. We will play with another one,” he said when asked if City could cope without the pair.
Guardiola praised the resilience of his players but aimed a sarcastic jibe at those who have suggested the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich coach is struggling to adapt to the demands of the Premier League.
“We are not good enough,” he said. “We are there with the problems we had and adapting in this league. All the people show me how difficult it is in this league – thank you for that.”
Dyche said Mason was right to dismiss Fernandinho, but felt Sagna should also have been sent off. “Many years ago, when I played, that would probably have been a yellow card but, nowadays, they talk about the scissor movement and coming off the ground,” Dyche said. “It’s not terrible, but it’s a sending-off by modern standards.
“Sagna is a sending-off because he swipes out at Boydy and Boydy is just trying to get the ball back to go and take it to the centre. I can only assume linesman and referee didn’t get a clear view. I think the linesman saw it to give a yellow card but I don’t think he saw enough of it to realise it was a kick out.” — The Daily Telegraph