Manchester City midfielder Bernardo Silva said: “Everyone in their 50s and 50s turned against us,” while criticizing Darren England’s performance in the 2-2 draw with Nottingham Forest that handed leadership to Arsenal in the Premier League title race.
England denied Man City what Silva felt was a clear penalty when Erling Haaland appeared to be clipped by Forest goalkeeper Mats Sells with Man City leading 2-1 at the Etihad Stadium.
A quick VAR review found no answerable case until Elliott Anderson equalized moments later. City dropped two points, leaving them seven behind league leaders Arsenal (who beat Brighton 1-0), but they still have a game in hand against the Gunners.
Haaland claimed his arm was pulled by Neco Williams before half-time and half called for a penalty, but Rodri was sent to the ground after colliding with Nikola Milenkovic in the dying minutes.
“I’m pretty used to it this season,” Silva told TNT Sports. “Everything 50-50 went against us. That’s the reality. I just saw the Erling incident. To me, that’s a penalty.”
“Some may argue otherwise. What can Erling do? We are used to it this season. We know how it works. Our job is only to get better, because these things are out of our control.
“What we can control is our own performance and that’s what we need to focus on.”
Mats Sells brought Haaland down just before Elliott Anderson’s equaliser, but referee Darren England and VAR took no notice of it.
Guardiola focuses on positives despite recent setbacks
Five successive wins, combined with Arsenal’s draw with bottom-placed Wolves two weeks ago, meant the fate of the Premier League title was in City’s hands, but Forest’s setback means the Gunners only need to win seven of their remaining eight games to lift their first league trophy since 2004.
Despite this, manager Josep Guardiola has not dampened his team’s hopes of winning the title, saying his team’s focus will now shift entirely to this weekend’s FA Cup fifth round match against Newcastle.
“We did everything,” Guardiola told TNT Sports. “We didn’t concede many goals and had some chances, especially at the end.
“We keep moving forward. You can see by the way they ran, they tried to do the best they could, but at this stage of the season it’s important (to win) at home, but we keep moving forward and looking forward, not backward.”
“I have nothing to say[about the penalty shout]. From now on we will play Newcastle in the FA Cup, Champions League and game after game.
“We play in a lot of competitions and are used to going from match to match. We have a lot of matches to play so we have to keep going.”
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Highlights of the Premier League match between Manchester City and Nottingham Forest.
Analysis: Arsenal advance, time runs out for City
Laura Hunter on Sky Sports at the Etihad Stadium:
When Pep Guardiola was asked how he would work to recover from such a painful setback, he defiantly replied: “As always, we all work together.” The problem is that time is running out for City to catch Arsenal.
Wednesday’s draw ended City’s run of seven consecutive home wins and also marked the first time since November that City had conceded more than two goals at the Etihad. The pure belief in this title push is definitely being shaken.
Overall, City have dropped 13 points from the table this season, a figure that is at odds with the champions. If that title was to end in Manchester this year, one can’t help but wonder if Sabinho’s goal would have somehow snuck in in stoppage time, rather than being missed by Murillo.
Alternatively, one of the two penalties claimed by Erling Haaland could be awarded. Or, of the five big opportunities created, another one might actually be taken. Giving up the lead twice in the same game means giving up the right to control the chase.
Before the draw with Forest, City had been in a position to take the crown if they won all of their remaining games, including the one against Arsenal. That luxury no longer exists. It is a physical blow as well as a spiritual blow. Mikel Arteta will be quietly pleased.
