Guardiola hits out at ‘special’ referee over costly decision
City manager: I did not insult Spanish official Klopp congratulates his team on ‘incredible’ win
Pep Guardiola launched a scathing attack on the referee after being sent off at the Etihad Stadium last night as the Manchester City manager laid the blame for his side’s Champions League quarter-final exit at the door of the officials.
Guardiola watched the second half of City’s 2-1 defeat to Liverpool from the stands after remonstrating with – and sarcastically gesturing at – Spanish referee Antonio Mateu Lahoz on the pitch at the end of the first period following a decision to incorrectly rule out a goal from Leroy Sane offside.
The City manager admitted he had warned his players beforehand about Lahoz amid concern that the referee had been put in charge of the game. Lahoz had denied Sergio Aguero a penalty in the first leg of their Round of 16 tie against Monaco last season, which City ended up losing on away goals.
“I said [to Lahoz] it was a goal, I didn’t insult him,” Guardiola said. “I was polite, I was correct, but Mateu Lahoz is a special guy, he likes to be different, he likes to be special.
“I know what happened in Monaco last season so he is a referee whenever people see the things, he will see the opposite. It’s too much to send me off because I didn’t say any wrong words.
“I just said, ‘It’s a goal, the ball came off [James] Milner. He said, ‘Oh, the pass came from Milner?’ “And I said, ‘Yes, it came from Milner. It is not offside.’ If we go to 2-0 against that side it is a bit different.
“The first goal from Salah in the second half made us change the way we played and we were tired.” And he added: “But please, Liverpool deserved to go through.”
Guardiola’s dismay with the officials was not confined to last night, though, as the City manager reeled off a list of decisions that he felt went against him in the 3-0 first leg defeat at Anfield last week.
“It’s different when [Mo] Salah’s goal at Anfield is offside,” Guardiola said. “It’s different when Gabriel Jesus’ goal at Anfield is offside. It’s a penalty for Raheem Sterling from Andy Robertson in front of the fourth official. Of course they have an influence.
“Big congratulations to Liverpool, hopefully they can represent England well in the semi-final. They are a top team and have a top manager. They deserve to be there.
“We made an outstanding 45 minutes but, like last season against Monaco, when it is a clear penalty and the same referee, in this competition the teams are so equal the impact [of decisions] is so big.”
Guardiola insisted the margins were thin in the Champions League, as reflected by Barcelona’s dramatic elimination to Roma last night and that he knew his side’s runaway lead in the Premier League would mean nothing against Liverpool.
“Look at Barcelona today,” he said. “The competition is so special. We knew immediately after the draw, despite being so far in front in the Premier League, that this is another competition. It is Liverpool, Anfield, they have won five Champions Leagues. Their fans believe this is their competition.
“We tried to compete well there. You need momentum and we had it in the first half but we were beaten by an exceptional team. English football has magnificent teams.”
This was City’s third defeat in a week, with Saturday’s 3-2 loss to Manchester United sandwiched in between, but Guardiola said he would not doubt himself. “We had 10 amazing months,” he said. “Sometimes it is normal [to lose] when you play against top teams.”
Klopp hailed a remarkable triumph by overcoming City, whom his side have now beaten three times since the turn of the year.
“It was far from the perfect performance but the boys deserved that,” he said. “We have beaten Man City three times. That is incredible. We scored five goals against Manchester City and conceded just one. These numbers are usually not possible. The boys did it, I am happy.
“I would have been nervous if we were 3-0 down at half-time, but even then I’d have known we had a chance to score one or two.
“I really do think they are the best team in the world at the moment. But I knew we could beat them. That doesn’t make us a better team, it’s just football, it’s cool that it is possible. It was difficult and it will be difficult in the semi-finals as well – 100 per cent. I really think a normal final could have been Man City against Barcelona, and now they are both out.
“But there will still be two other strong teams in, plus Roma and us. We will see what happens, but that’s not a thing I have to think about tonight.”