Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has refused to comment on a handball incident against his side at the end of their Champions League first leg against RB Leipzig, but admitted he knows “what happened in this situation.”
The reigning Premier League champions gave an assured first-half performance in Germany and took the lead through Riyad Mahrez, but the hosts grew into the match in the second half and levelled through defender Josko Gvardiol from a corner.
Pep Guardiola’s side did press for a winner and got a corner deep into added time. Mahrez played a one-two to get a better angle on his cross which was met by Rodri and though it didn’t appear to be a goal-threatening attempt, it struck Benjamin Henrich who then appeared to push the ball away with his hands.
It appears a conclusive penalty yet the referee did not award one nor did VAR intervene. It left the pundits in the BT Sport studio flabbergasted after the final whistle.
On the incident, Guardiola told BT: “I didn’t see it, normally. I didn’t see it so I cannot talk but I know what happened in these situations.”
Guardiola failed to make a single substitution against Leipzig, despite having the talents of Julian Alvarez and Phil Foden on the bench. “I saw the team, especially the middle, and at the end I decided to continue with what I had, especially the back four,” he explained. “Bernardo [Silva] was giving a lot of control in the middle and we needed that.”
On why City failed to win, Guardiola added: “They made a step forward, they were pressing more higher, they create more problems in the build-up, but after the goal we concede we came back and picked up last 15, 20 minutes so we had good chances in both halves, and the result, we go back to Manchester.”
