Manchester City’s boss Pep Guardiola was unhappy with the refereeing in their clash against Manchester United at the Old Trafford. City took the lead with a Jack Grealish goal, but ended up losing the match after two quick counter-attacking goals from Manchester United, scored by Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford. 

However, the big talking point in the game was the first goal scored by Manchester United. Christian Eriksen’s through ball had Marcus Rashford in front of the goal, however, the forward was miles offside. Realising the same, he did not take a touch but had made movement towards the ball, before Bruno Fernandes snooped in and converted. 

Although the goal was initially ruled out, after contemplation with his assistant referee, Stuart Atwell decided to give the goal in favor of United. Four minutes later, a sensational individual work from Alejandro Garnacho helped Marcus Rashford score his ninth successive goal at the Old Trafford. United won the match 2-1, but Guardiola remained frustrated. 

This was Manchester City’s second continuous defeat, after losing 2-0 to Southampton. City lacked the conviction in that game as well, conceding two early goals and never recovered from it. 

“I don’t care about the Premier League and the Carabao Cup, we cannot win. We won a lot, so it’s not a problem. Problem is performing how we have done. Always we are focused on that,” he told BT Sport. “Carabao Cup is out, it doesn’t matter. We didn’t perform how we want. Today we performed. Today, don’t be distracted by what happened with the first goal and focus.”

The defeat now means Manchester City are further away from the top position which is currently held by Arsenal. City have an elusive opportunity to become the second team in the PL era to win the title three times in a row, but another big defeat saw them create further distance. 

For Guardiola, the only redemption now lies in closing down the gap with Arsenal, that can go up to eight points if Arsenal win their game in hand. They have some tricky fixtures coming up in the league, which involves two games against Spurs and an away fixture against Arsenal.