Guardiola: Sane has forgotten Bennett’s tackle for Cardiff
Pep Guardiola has refused to be dragged into a war of words with Neil Warnock after the Cardiff City manager accused his Manchester City counterpart of making “a song and dance” over a challenge on Leroy Sane last season.
The Manchester City manager called for more protection for players after condemning a dreadful tackle by Cardiff City defender Joe Bennett on Sane during his team’s 2-0 FA Cup win in January that kept the winger out for a fortnight while Bennett was sent off.
But Warnock has stoked the fires ahead of Manchester City’s return to Wales in the Premier League today by claiming Guardiola’s criticism of Bennett overlooked a challenge by Kevin De Bruyne on Jazz Richards that forced his defender to miss the rest of the season. “We all talked about Bennett’s tackle on Sane which resulted in Sane missing three games,” he said. “Whereas, if you watched in the 50th minute a tackle from De Bruyne on Jazz Richards that put him out for 17 games – which was the worst? I suppose a tackle on Richards probably doesn’t sell any papers or makes any news.
“I’m not sure that Lee Mason even booked De Bruyne, but he caught Jazz Richards’s knee badly and it should at least have been a yellow card. Jazz missed 17 games. That sounds like it was a worse tackle than Bennett’s was, but all the attention was on Bennett. We didn’t make a song and dance about Jazz Richards.”
Guardiola was reluctant to become embroiled in a row with Warnock but said he felt confident Bennett’s challenge will not be playing on Sane’s mind. “I didn’t speak with him [Sane] but he’s forgotten it,” he said. “It’s months ago, a different competition.”
Warnock joked with defender Sol Bamba about “just trying to keep it to single figures” today and fears City’s dismal 2-1 Champions League defeat against Lyon, when Guardiola watched from the stands due to a touchline ban, could spark a backlash. “They missed him on the touchline,” Warnock said. “He won’t be happy with the result but it might give them a kick up the backside. I don’t think that result helps us in any way.”
Guardiola will be without Benjamin Mendy with a bruised foot. Meanwhile, Sergio Aguero has signed a one-year contract extension that ties him to Manchester City until June 2021.