Desk Report:
Manchester City were denied a win by conceding a penalty late in the match. The English giants drew 2-2 with Monaco in the second match of the season in the Champions League. Citizens’ head coach Pep Guardiola put the referee on the bench after sharing the points. The Spanish coach cannot accept the penalty.
Manchester City took the lead in the opponent’s field in the 15th minute through Erling Haaland’s goal. Jordan Teje brought Monaco back into the match 3 minutes later. When Haaland found the net again in the 44th minute, Manchester City took the lead for the second time. The visiting team was on the verge of victory with this goal. But in the 86th minute, Nico Gonzalez made a mistake. Manchester City’s Argentine footballer went to shoot to block the ball from a free kick in their own box. At the same time, Monaco’s English defender Eric Dier lowered his head. Gonzalez kicked him in the head. After the VAR review, Spanish referee Jesus Gil Manzano awarded a penalty. After his decision, there was a lot of tension in the dugouts of both teams.
After the match, Guardiola said about the penalty, “The Spanish referees have nothing to say. Gonzalez touched the ball first. He had no intention of committing a foul. We played really well. We were very close to winning. But in the end we didn’t see victory. In the end, we had to digest the penalty.”
Despite the draw, Guardiola was satisfied with the team’s performance, “You have to win with the result. If you analyze this match, you will understand how we played. We had many chances. The boys played really well. Step by step, we will improve further.”
After the first two matches of the Champions League, Man City has collected 4 points with one win and a draw. They are eighth in the table. Monaco is 30th with one point. Bayern Munich is at the top with 6 points. Real Madrid and PSG are in the next two places with equal points.
