Pep Guardiola apologised for the behaviour of his Manchester City players after the extraordinary scenes at the end of their 3-1 defeat to Chelsea when Sergio Agüero and Fernandinho were both sent off.
Guardiola, however, refused to criticise Agüero for the wild challenge on David Luiz that instigated a confrontation between the two sets of players and the City manager even made the astonishing claim that it was “not intentional” on the part of his striker.
Agüero is now facing a four-match ban because he has served one suspension already this season, whereas Fernandinho has put himself at risk of further disciplinary action from the Football Association after grabbing Cesc Fàbregas by the throat and pushing him into the crowd. “It is a pity it finished like this,” Guardiola said. “It was the way the referee decided. It is a pity, I would like to apologise.”
Guardiola was equally reluctant to question Fernandinho’s behaviour – “‘Ferna’ went to defend his team-mate,” he said in response to questions about the Brazilian – and said he would not criticise the referee Anthony Taylor’s performance despite several contentious calls going against the home team.
“We didn’t win because we missed a lot of chances, not because of the referee,” Guardiola said. “Never in my life [have I criticised referees]. OK, I say never, but maybe a few times, but I respect [referees]. It is just a game. I have to understand this is England. I didn’t come here to change absolutely anything. I know the way you live. I am just here to understand and I need time to understand the decisions.”
Guardiola could be seen during the game clapping exaggeratedly when a decision went in favour of City, even punching the air in mock delight, and he insisted Agüero’s tackle on David Luiz was not as bad as it looked. “Both players were strong. Both players. He [David Luiz] went down and he [Agüero] touched him. It wasn’t intentional.”
Challenged about whether he truly believed it was not an obvious red-card offence, he replied: “I don’t think so. Maybe I have to understand many things here, but the referee says red card, so red card. We accept that. It was a red card. OK, we are going to deal with that.”
The hosts dominated the first hour, but had only a Gary Cahill own goal to show for it before goals from Diego Costa and Willian transformed the game, with Eden Hazard wrapping up an eighth successive win late on.
Antonio Conte, Chelsea’s manager, said of the fracas that led to two red cards: “This final [stage] wasn’t good. I hope only that Luiz is not injured after this tackle. It is very difficult to explain this final part of the game. I support the referee. It is important that the referee whistles and we ‘finish’ [do what he says].”
