Manchester City manager, Pep Guardiola has said it was cruel for Manchester City to bow out of the UCL the way they did after a Raheem Sterling goal was cancelled by VAR.
Manchester City defeated Spurs 4-3 but exited the competition on away goal rule.
City felt qualification was secured when Sterling scored his third goal on the night only to see it ruled out after a VAR check.
Pep said, “We are close to going through and after we went out through the action — it is cruel but we have to accept it,”
“It was a nice game for everybody — 3-2 after After 20 minutes and in the second half we did everything. It was not easy to create chances but we created a lot. We made mistakes and in that competition you are punished a lot but we knew it.
“We scored the goals that we needed. Unfortunately at the end it was a bad end for us. Congratulations Tottenham and all the best for the semifinals.”
“I support VAR but it is just to see the goal maybe from Llorente is handball,”
“From one angle it is handball. From the angle he saw the referee [thought] it is not so… I am for fair football, for fair decisions.
“The referees must be helped sometimes. When it is offside, it is offside. What can I say? I think in the future, and even in the present it will be fair and that is all.”
On Sterling’s cancelled goal, he said, “I saw the action and if the people decide it is offside, it is offside. What can I say? It’s tough in that moment.
“We missed a penalty in the first leg. We created an incredible amount of chances today against a tough team. We reacted incredibly well. I am so proud, especially for the fans. Thanks so much for the reaction and incredible behaviour. It was an amazing night for us.”
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