REF PLAYED A SUPERB ADVANTAGE

THIS was outstanding refereeing from Istvan Kovacs of Romania. Oleksandr Zinchenko was clearly fouled and it would have been so easy for Kovacs to blow for the free-kick. But he waited and, lo and behold, it ended with a fantastic goal from Bernardo Silva. Kovacs’ fitness and decision-making were the best I’ve seen from a referee for a long time. Pep Guardiola received a yellow card earlier in the game for reacting badly to a foul and yelling at the official. He had Kovacs to thank after Silva’s superb goal.