I told Haaland he risked red card, says Guardiola

PEP GUARDIOLA admitted he had to warn Erling Haaland against getting himself sent off in a stormy 1-1 draw against Everton.

A frustrated Haaland was booked for a lunge on Vitaliy Mykolenko midway through the first half after previously being caught by Ben Godfrey and then left James Tarkowski on the floor with a flailing arm as he shielded the ball.

Guardiola wouldn’t directly criticise referee Andy Madley but hinted that City have come to expect their players not to be protected.

‘It was a (deserved) yellow card for Haaland. He was a bit angry for the first action on his ankle (by Godfrey). I told him to be careful because we can’t play 10 against 11 and he reacted well.

‘We are Manchester City. We have to do our best but I know what happened. Against Leeds, three or four fouls on Jack Grealish and nothing happened.

‘I don’t want a relationship with the referees. I don’t want to be there in the meetings. I don’t care. They do their job, it is fine.’

Haaland did score his 21st league goal of the season to give City the lead but Everton equalised with a stunning long-range strike by Demarai Gray.

City have taken only one point from the last six at the Etihad— they lost 2-1 to Brentford on November 12 — but Guardiola was positive towards his players as they continue to trail Arsenal in the table.

‘We played a real good game but they made a fantastic goal with the first shot on target they had,’ said the City boss. ‘The result was not expected but this is football.

‘Everton’s approach against us was different to Liverpool, they broke the rhythm but this is the Premier League. It is a strategy for the opponent. It is difficult against eight players who are in their 18yard box all the time.’

Frank Lampard made no apology for Everton’s abrasive and defensively powerful performance. ‘It’s tough to do that for a hundred minutes, particularly against the champions off the back of a sucker-punch against Wolves on Boxing Day. It’s a big deal for our dressing room.’

In a game of seven bookings, Gray silenced the Etihad with a stunning curling strike after 64 minutes to earn his side a point.

‘Tielemans scored a goal like that at Goodison and the stadium goes dead,’ added Lampard. ‘Demarai has the ability, it’s about getting him in those positions more often. The next thing for him is to get more tap-ins as well.’