Pep Guardiola believes Sergio Aguero’s tackle on David Luiz was not on purpose, but admits his side were exposed in a 3-1 defeat to Chelsea last night.
The final moments of the contest saw the Sergio Aguero lunge in with both feet on the opposition defender, earning a straight red card for himself while Fernandino was also dismissed for his reaction to the incident.
“It wasn’t intentional,” Guardiola said to the media after the match.
“Maybe I have to understand many things here but the referee says red card so red card. He was lost [suspended] before as well. OK, we are going to deal with that.”
Goals from Diego Costa, Willian and Eden Hazard put down Manchester City in the second of this hotly contested game. None of Guardiola’s players were able to find the target despite a plethora of opportunities though, with Man City’s goal coming from the shin of Gary Cahill.
“We didn’t win because we missed a lot of chances not because of the referee,” added the Spanish manager.
“I never speak about the decisions. Always I can improve or focus on what can help my team. The result happens. There are many things in the last game.
“I will speak with my team about how we handle these situations. The way they handled the game they have to understand. It is completely different when I play in Italy from Spain, so I have to adapt to English football and understand it. But again, we didn’t win because we missed chances.”
“This is a problem we have had all season. It is difficult for us to score goals. We concede them very easily and this is the same story,” said Guardiola.
“In the boxes we are not strong enough. Against Everton we missed two penalties. We played quite well today but the opponents arrive and score goals. When that happens, it is tough for the players.
“[Against] Crystal Palace, maybe we didn’t deserve to win. It is part of the process — to keep fighting keep winning. But I don’t have regrets.”
Here’s the video of the horrific tackle on David Luiz. You decide whether this was an honest attempt for the ball or a deliberate yet reckless move by Sergio Aguero.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMKfk9GLgTc
