Pep Guardiola unhappy at Rodri for red card in Man City win
Pep Guardiola admitted he was angry with Rodri after the influential midfielder was sent off in Manchester City’s 2-0 win over Nottingham Forest. The Spain international was dismissed early in the second half of Saturday’s Premier League clash at the Etihad Stadium after raising his hands to the neck of Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White. Rodri protested at the time, and there was a delay before referee Anthony Taylor’s decision was upheld by VAR, but Guardiola claimed there could be no excuses for his conduct. The City manager said: “Hopefully Rodri will learn. The game was perfect with 35 minutes gone and after it became chaos. “That’s not our responsibility, that’s for sure, but Rodri has to control himself and his emotions. I can get a yellow card but Rodri can’t. I don’t play. The guys inside (the pitch) have to be careful. “I said at half-time, ‘Be careful guys, relax, control your emotions’. Unfortunately, Rodri could not do it. Now we have to accept the decisions.” Asked if he was angry with Rodri, Guardiola said: “Yes. I don’t like to play with 10 for our faults. He has apologised.” Despite being critical of Rodri, Guardiola was not happy with the way the game was controlled by Taylor. As well as Rodri’s red card, there were 11 bookings during the game, including one for Guardiola himself. Guardiola said: “The referee changed the game. “For the first 35 minutes, it was absolutely not (a bad game). What changed? What happened after 2-0, it’s not down to us. You have to ask the other ones but I don’t know if they will hang up the phone.” City had put themselves into a comfortable lead with goals inside the first 14 minutes from Phil Foden and Erling Haaland. After Rodri’s departure, the hosts needed to change approach and Guardiola was pleased with the outcome. He said: “Our game in the first 35 minutes was beyond good, how we find our men free, it was really, really good. “It was a lot of minutes we had to defend, and we conceded one chance in the 94th minute. We didn’t concede anything else, against a team who won at Stamford Bridge and created problems at Arsenal and Old Trafford. “I’m really satisfied and pleased for all of us.” Forest manager Steve Cooper had conflicting thoughts about his side’s performance. He said: “We had a really poor start in terms of goals conceded. We knew the level of the challenge we faced here – it doesn’t get any tougher – and the two City goals were of great quality, typical City goals. “But we’d planned for that. It was a repeat tactic and to let it happen as easily as they did – if they were going to score I wanted it to be with real difficulty. “The game changes with the red card. That we had a second half played in City’s half I have mixed feelings about. “You rarely get an opportunity to have that territory here. Even more experienced teams don’t get anywhere near that but we need to make more of these opportunities. We have got to be more productive.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live ‘We should’ve won’ – Rob Edwards reflects on Luton’s first Premier League point Five-try Henry Arundell has World Cup debut to remember as England crush Chile Sam Hain and Will Jacks star as new-look England beat Ireland at Trent Bridge
2023-09-24 02:29
Stephen A. Smith Is Not Too Fond of Larsa Pippen
Stephen A. Smith weighed in on the Larsa Pippen-Marcus Jordan relationship drama.
2023-07-13 05:53
Mikel Arteta pinpoints moment Arsenal made ‘phenomenal’ response at Chelsea
Mikel Arteta praised a “phenomenal” response from Arsenal after they fought back from two goals down in the final 13 minutes to earn a 2-2 draw at Chelsea and move level on points at the top of the Premier League. Chelsea looked to be sending Arsenal to a first league defeat of the season when Mykhailo Mudryk’s cross-shot put them into a 2-0 lead minutes after half-time, the Ukrainian’s effort drifting over goalkeeper David Raya who was unable to recover from a poor starting position as the ball dropped into the goal. That added to the lead given to them by a first-half penalty from Cole Palmer, increasingly influential in Pochettino’s revitalised attack following his move from Manchester City, who slotted home after William Saliba was adjudged to have handled from Mudryk’s header. It was a commanding and deserved advantage for the hosts, who were seeking a third straight league win, but as so often during Chelsea’s turbulent last 18 months it was an individual error that turned the game and cost them points. Goalkeeper Robert Sanchez rolled the ball straight to the feet of Declan Rice who cut the arrears from 30 yards, before Leandro Trossard got a lunging right leg to Bukayo Saka’s cross six minutes from time to salvage an unlikely draw. And afterwards Arteta praised his team’s powers of recovery as they extended their unbeaten start to the league season to nine matches to go level at the top with Manchester City. “I think what went wrong was the start of the game,” said the manager. “We didn’t play with enough purpose and clarity. We were just moving the ball without the intention to threaten them. That’s a really dangerous thing to do against teams like Chelsea. “Then we didn’t win enough duels, and in tight areas when we had them, they escaped from that and they attacked open spaces, and they are really dangerous things to do. “When we changed that and we changed the level after 20, 25 minutes, especially in the second half then it’s a different game. We became a much better team, even though we conceded the second goal and it’s a disappointment. “The way the team reacted to the second goal is phenomenal from the players on the pitch and the players on the bench thinking ‘how the hell am I going to change this game?’ I loved that. “I really liked as well going into the dressing room and it’s really quiet, after drawing 2-2 with Chelsea and coming back from 2-0 down, because I know that they wanted more. That’s the positive.” Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino reflected on perhaps Chelsea’s best performance since he took over in the summer, and refused to lay the blame at the feet of Sanchez for allowing Arsenal back into the match. “Too many games that we’re watching every week, always mistakes,” he said. “Football is about mistakes. If you want to score, you want the opponent to make a mistake. Ninety per cent of goals are because the opponent made a mistake. Football is about mistakes. “The only thing we can criticise a little bit is to read better the situation, the tempo and the timing. After 77 minutes, we’re trying to take some risks. OK, we can because it’s our philosophy. But maybe (we need) better decisions. So we can criticise a bit, but also this is football. “It’s not to blame someone. It’s only that in this type of situation you need to read better, but that will arrive with time. Teams need to manage and drive games. You need to read the game, when to be calm, when to play, when to take risks.” Read More Gary O’Neil insists Wolves win at Bournemouth not about revenge over former club Pep Guardiola hails ‘exceptional’ Brighton after Man City return to winning ways Thomas Frank: Five-year anniversary meal will taste better after Brentford win Rob Edwards salutes Luton super-sub Elijah Adebayo after equaliser at Forest England skipper Jos Buttler questions his decision to field first in latest loss A true gentleman – David Beckham pays tribute to ‘national hero’ Bobby Charlton
2023-10-22 04:52
Max Verstappen up against it in Singapore after struggling in final practice
Max Verstappen faces a fight to take pole position at the Singapore Grand Prix after calling his Red Bull “unacceptable” in final practice. As Carlos Sainz raced to the top of the time charts at the Marina Bay Circuit, Verstappen finished fourth. The Dutchman is on an unprecedented 10-race winning streak with his Red Bull team unbeaten at the 14 rounds of the season so far. But Verstappen bemoaned the handling of his car in the city-state, describing the upshifts in his Red Bull machinery as “unacceptable”. He added: “These upshifts, what the f***. I am just struggling for rear grip. If I competed in drifting, I might win the race.” Verstappen returned to the track in the closing moments of the one-hour running, ringing the neck of his Red Bull to move from sixth to fourth, 0.313 sec slower than Sainz. But his struggles will give the chasing pack hope of finally stopping Verstappen and Red Bull with Ferrari holding the upper hand heading into qualifying later on Saturday. Sainz and team-mate Charles Leclerc traded top spot in the two practice sessions here on Friday, with the former again fastest in the concluding running before the fight for pole. Leclerc looked set to eclipse Sainz only to make a mistake in the second sector before backing out of his speediest lap, finishing fifth. George Russell took an encouraging second for Mercedes, just 0.069 sec slower than Sainz, with Lando Norris third in his McLaren. Lewis Hamilton was sixth for Mercedes, within half-a-second of Sainz. Verstappen’s team-mate Sergio Perez, who won here last year, finished eighth, 0.719 sec back. Qualifying for the 15th round of 22 takes place at 2100 local time (1400 BST). Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Max Verstappen struggles in Singapore practice under the lights On this day in 2021: George Russell joins Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz gets goosebumps after landing pole for Italian Grand Prix
2023-09-16 19:27
Brooks and defense lead No. 3 Texas into final Big 12 season with dominant 38-6 win at Baylor
Jonathon Brooks ran for two touchdowns and No. 3 Texas got a dominant game from its defense to overpower Baylor in a 38-6 win Saturday night to launch the Longhorns into their final Big 12 season
2023-09-24 11:19
Pebble Beach is giving the best female golfers a chance at US Open history
Pebble Beach is holding another U.S. Open
2023-07-06 06:15
Aston Villa beats injury-hit Tottenham 2-1 to move just 2 points off the lead in the Premier League
Aston Villa has come from behind to win 2-1 at injury-hit Tottenham and move two points off the lead in the Premier League
2023-11-27 00:57
Erik ten Hag heaps praise on United goalkeeper Andre Onana after penalty heroics
Erik ten Hag praised goalkeeper Andre Onana for putting a difficult start to life at Manchester United behind him and saving the day in a narrow Champions League escape against Copenhagen. Having kicked off Group A with defeats to Bayern Munich and Galatasaray, the Red Devils could ill-afford any slip-up against the Danish champions in Tuesday’s Old Trafford encounter. Onana was guilty of poor performances in both of those Champions League losses but helped make amends in a brilliant conclusion to an emotional first home game since the death of Sir Bobby Charlton. The United keeper saved Jordan Larsson’s stoppage-time penalty with what proved to be the last touch of the match, ensuring Harry Maguire’s second-half header sealed a crucial 1-0 win. “He showed personality and he knows that before was not the levels what his skills are,” manager Ten Hag said of the summer signing from Inter Milan. “He didn’t match his skills and he could do better. “I think Saturday (against Sheffield United) was a very good performance and today as well. “Also, don’t forget that brilliant save just after half-time in the counter-attack. “But, of course, that is one of his skills, he is a very good penalty saver.” Onana’s save sparked wild celebrations at a rocking Old Trafford, where he was mobbed by team-mates before United’s substitutes poured onto the pitch. “You see there is a very good spirit in the dressing room,” said Ten Hag, who claimed not to have seen Alejandro Garnacho scuffing the penalty spot. “They are together, they fight together and they celebrate together. “If we have setbacks, they support each other. I think that spirit is always needed to be a successful team.” United have won three straight matches in all competitions despite some unconvincing performances and improvements are needed against reigning Premier League champions Manchester City on Sunday. “First half no good, difficult,” Ten Hag said. “They were well organised, Copenhagen. “It was difficult to create chances. We didn’t get the right build-up, so we didn’t get the tempo in the game. “The second half I think was better. In the first half, we got some press on but not in many occasions or in a long period. “In the second half, both things were better and the build-up was better “The construction was better, more switches and also we created more chances. I think finally the win was justified but it was a narrow escape.” This was certainly a let-off for a United side who had the frequently-criticised Maguire to thank as well as Onana. The defender’s future appeared elsewhere having been stripped of the captaincy during a summer of speculation, but he has now made three straight starts and scored the key goal on Tuesday. “He is playing much more proactive in possession, stepping in, passing vertical,” the Dutchman said. “Defending also on the front foot, also stepping in, defending forward. “Very confident in the duels. I think he is dominating, in the right moment putting in the aggression and dominating his opponents. “Then you see you also get rewarded, of course it’s a very good skill from him his heading, but I have to say great pass from Christian (Eriksen) as well but a very good finish.” These sides now return to domestic matters before resuming battle in Denmark in the reverse fixture on November 8. Copenhagen head coach Jacob Neestrup said: “We all know that we played a match where we allowed ourselves to get at least one point. “We had a big chance to score in the closing seconds, so that hurts. It really hurts. “I don’t believe in bad luck in football. Football is decided by important saves or goals, and in terms of that, we have been unable to tip it in our favour in the first three matches, which have led to one point. Those are the hard facts.” Read More Gabriel Jesus has ‘changed our world’ – Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta Jesus inspires Arsenal while Harry Kane helps Bayern to victory over Galatasaray Sean Longstaff pinching himself after change in fortunes at Newcastle Manchester City ‘not used’ to artificial pitch but must adapt – Pep Guardiola World Rugby to launch new international competition from 2026 Simona Halep files appeal with CAS against four-year doping ban
2023-10-25 07:16
Maguire grateful for Beckham support in troubled times
Harry Maguire has thanked David Beckham after the former Manchester United star contacted the troubled England defender to offer support when he was booed by...
2023-10-11 17:27
Chelsea boss Hayes confirmed as US women's soccer coach
Chelsea manager Emma Hayes has been appointed as the new head coach of the United States in a record deal that will make her the world's highest paid women's football coach...
2023-11-15 13:27
Red Bull boss hails 'mind blowing' season as Verstappen cruises again
Red Bull boss Christian Horner described his team's form this season as "mind blowing" after Max Verstappen's latest display of dominance...
2023-07-31 01:55
Han clinches first Asian Tour win at Korea Open
US golfer Seungsu Han clinched his first Asian Tour title at the Kolon Korea Open on Sunday, winning by six shots after...
2023-06-25 18:48
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