Rodri: 'Man City's draw was an injustice caused by the referee'

Manchester City's captain Rodri did not hide his dissatisfaction with the refereeing following the intense 2-2 draw with Tottenham, which left Man City trailing further behind Arsenal.

The 2-2 draw against a Tottenham side struggling with personnel issues (missing as many as 9 key players) was a harsh blow to Manchester City's title ambitions. Despite leading 2-0 in the first half thanks to goals from Rayan Cherki and Antoine Semenyo, Pep Guardiola's team allowed their opponents to fight back strongly in the second half. The main controversy centered around Spurs' goal that reduced the deficit, when Dominic Solanke pressured defender Marc Guehi into an own goal.

Immediately after the match, captain Rodri gave a highly tense interview. The Spanish midfielder did not hesitate to criticize referee Robert Jones, claiming that Solanke had clearly fouled Guehi before the goal was scored.

Speaking in deep frustration, Rodri emphasized:

“We are very disappointed because it was clearly a foul, he kicked our player’s leg. We have to pay attention to these small details, otherwise it will be very difficult for everyone since this league depends on such fine margins.”

Not stopping there, Rodri hinted that this was not the only error that disadvantaged Man City during the match. He stated sharply:

“I’m not saying the refereeing standard here is poor, it’s actually very good. But we need fairness in these situations. One mistake can happen to anyone, but two, three, or even four consecutive errors are unacceptable.

We have worked very hard and these small actions should not be allowed to change the outcome of the game, but unfortunately, that’s what happened today.”

 

Despite dropping 2 valuable points and allowing Arsenal to extend their lead to 6 points, Rodri remained confident about the chances of defending the title for "The Citizens". When asked if this result ended their title hopes, he affirmed:

“That doesn’t cause any damage. We expected to win here, but we will keep fighting until the end because that’s our identity.”

Man City won’t have much time to dwell on the disappointment. On Wednesday, they will host Newcastle in the Carabao Cup semi-final before facing a crucial “do or die” clash with Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday.

If they don’t quickly improve focus and overcome frustrations with refereeing, Pep Guardiola’s team will face significant challenges during the most demanding phase of the season.