'They don't want us to win!' - Man City star Rodri launches into furious tirade over 'foul' before Tottenham goal in echo of Pep Guardiola after Spurs snatch dramatic point

Guardiola’s side appeared to be easing their way to victory at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with Rayan Cherki and Antoine Semenyo firing them into a two-goal lead. The home side were booed off at the interval.

Thomas Frank, who has been coming under mounting pressure, was able to conjure up a spirited fightback from his team, with Dominic Solanke leading the charge. He bundled home Spurs’ first, with the aid of a deflection off Marc Guehi, before delivering a stunning scorpion kick second.

An entertaining encounter finished all square, with City slipping six points adrift of Premier League table-toppers Arsenal. The Blues are of the opinion that their title-chasing efforts are being undermined by a number of questionable decisions.

Big VAR calls have gone against City in recent meetings with Newcastle, Manchester United and Wolves. They believe that Solanke kicked through fellow England international Guehi when dragging Spurs back into a game that was threatening to get away from them.

Rodri was on post-match media duty and spoke openly about feelings in the City camp. He told Stan Sport: “I know we won too much and the people don’t want us to win but the referee has to be neutral and for me honestly, it’s not fair. It’s not fair because we work so hard in these situations and now to make these decisions, we have to move on.

“Of course you need to come back but at the end, when everything is finished, we are frustrated because it’s so clear the foul. He kicked the leg and of course with the push of the action on the ball, the ball goes in.

“We have to pay attention to these little things otherwise it’s going to be difficult for everyone because this league is like this – it’s about small details and everything counts, so I think today is a very tough day for us in this sense.”

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Rodri added on an unfortunate run of supposed misfortune on the VAR front: “I don’t know how to feel. Now I see the images. On the pitch you don’t see. It’s a clear foul in the first action of the goal.

“It’s a clear foul and VAR is (there) for a reason. These small details make the difference. We’re trying to do our best, it’s the first goal they scored and maybe if they don’t score the goal, we win the game.

“It’s one game and another game and it’s not possible. And honestly I never speak about referees, I respect their job massively, but they have to pay attention to these things. He’s kicked the leg. It’s so clear, it’s so clear. He anticipated the leg of Marc and it’s a clear foul, but it’s not today, it’s two or three games in a row and I don’t know why, honestly.”

Guardiola was also less than impressed with the performance of match officials against Spurs. He said of the contentious incident involving Solanke and Guehi: “Once again... Have you seen it? Nothing. It's happened once again. What can I say? Marc has the ball, he's been kicked from behind, and it's a goal. Nothing. One more."

He added when speaking to BBC Sport: "Well, if you do it to a striker it would be a penalty. I'm not a referee. Fascinating in the Premier League.”

City are entering another big week on the trophy-hunting front, with the second leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final clash with Newcastle taking place at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday. They will then head to Anfield on Sunday for a meeting with old adversaries Liverpool.