Pep Guardiola takes angry swipe at ‘Spanish referees’ after Man City concede late penalty to Monaco in Champions League

Manchester City were held to a 2-2 draw by Monaco after conceding a late penalty in dramatic fashion. Spanish referee Jesus Gil Manzano awarded the spot-kick following a VAR review after Nico Gonzalez was judged to have made high contact with Dier inside the box. The decision sparked chaos on the sidelines, with red cards shown as tensions boiled over between both benches.

Guardiola made his frustration clear after the final whistle, refusing to discuss the referee but hinting at his displeasure. “Nothing to say to Spanish referees,” he said. “We played a really good game. Of course, we were close but at the end we could not defend the free-kick well and we conceded the penalty. In football you have to win with the result. If you analyse the game there were many things that were good. Step by step we will be better but we had many chances and many players played really good. We conceded almost nothing.”

The result extends City’s wait for an away win in Europe, their last coming exactly one year ago. Guardiola’s men dominated for large spells and twice struck the crossbar but were undone by one contentious call. Haaland's brace was left with just one point to show for it, and the Norwegian striker left the pitch in fury after the full-time whistle.

Manchester City will look to bounce back when they return to Premier League action this weekend as they face Brentford. Guardiola’s side remain unbeaten in Europe but have now dropped to eighth on the Champions League table. The focus will shift toward rediscovering composure and ensuring refereeing drama does not derail their Champions League campaign.