CITY KICKED US OFF THE PARK, SAYS WARNOCK

NEIL WARNOCK has fanned the flames with Manchester City by criticising their reaction to Cardiff’s tough tackling during last season’s FA Cup meeting. City boss Pep Guardiola was incensed after Joe Bennett scythed down Leroy Sane — a challenge that kept the winger out for a fortnight — and called for more protection from referees. But Warnock yesterday accused City of being overzealous in the tackle as well. ‘I totally agree with Guardiola (on protection),’ Warnock said. ‘Sane missed three games, but there was a tackle from Kevin de Bruyne on Jazz Richards that put him out for 17 games. ‘So, I would say which is the worst? That sounds like a worse tackle than Bennett’s, but we didn’t make a song and dance about that. ‘There were one or two naughty things and everybody wrote about the one tackle that Benno knows was a disgrace. De Bruyne Grudge match: how The Verdict covered the FA Cup tie in January didn’t even get booked, but he caught his knee badly.’ There will be significant scrutiny on today’s referee, Michael Oliver, although Guardiola refused to be drawn into a war of words. He said: ‘I’m not going to play that game. I’m not going to discuss a game that happened eight months ago. ‘The players should be protected — that’s why the referees are there, I suppose.’ City striker Sergio Aguero is expected to start for the Premier League champions after extending his contract until 2021 yesterday. The club’s record goalscorer said that the opportunity to play for more than a decade at the Etihad was a driving force behind his decision to agree new terms. Guardiola has been effusive in his praise for Aguero over the last 12 months and claimed his players had no reason to apologise for Wednesday’s shock 2-1 Champions League defeat by Lyon. ‘Why should they? They ran, they fought, tried to make a comeback,’ he said. ‘The Champions League punishes the mistakes. We made a lot of mistakes. But they don’t have to apologise.’