Manchester City midfielder Bernardo Silva said “all the 50s and 50s were against us” after Darren England’s performance in the 2-2 draw with Nottingham Forest that handed Arsenal the lead in the Premier League title race.
England denied Manchester City what Silva felt was a clear penalty at the Etihad Stadium when Erling Haaland was given a 2-1 lead by Forest goalkeeper Mats Sels.
A quick VAR review showed there was no case to reply before Elliott Anderson equalized. City went from two points down to seven wins against league leaders Arsenal (1-0 win at Brighton). Although they kept the game in check against the Gunners.
Haaland had another penalty called for before half-time when he claimed Neco Williams had pulled his arm, while Rodri fell to the ground after being contacted by Nikola Milenkovic in the second half.
“I’m pretty used to it this season,” Silva said. TNT Sports. “Everyone in their 50s and 50s was against us. It’s reality. I just saw the Erling incident. For me it’s a fine.
“Some people might argue otherwise. What can Erling do? We’ve gotten used to it this season. We know how it works. Our job is to be better, because we can’t control these things.
“What we can control is our own performance, and that’s what we need to focus on.”
Matz Sels brought down Haaland just before Elliot Anderson’s equalizer. But nothing was given by referee Darren England or VAR.
Guardiola focuses on positives despite recent setbacks
Arsenal’s draw at bottom-placed Wolves two weeks ago and their fifth successive win left the fate of the Premier League title in City’s hands, but Forest’s setback now means the Gunners can wrap up their first league title since 2004 if they win seven of their remaining eight games.
Despite this, manager Pep Guardiola is not pessimistic about his team’s hopes of winning the title and says they will be fully focused on their trip to Newcastle in the FA Cup fifth round this weekend.
Guardiola: “We did everything” TNT Sports. “We didn’t give up much and we had our chances, especially at the end.
“We keep going. They tried to do their best, you see how they run. But at home, at this stage of the season (to win) it’s important but we keep looking forward and not backwards.”
“I have nothing to say (about the penalty call). Now we have the FA Cup, the Champions League and Newcastle match by match coming up.
“We are used to participating in a lot of competitions and playing this game and that. We have to keep going because we have a lot of games to play.”
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Highlights from the Premier League match between Manchester City and Nottingham Forest.
Analysis: Time was running out for City as Arsenal held on for a draw.
Sky Sports’ Laura Hunter at the Etihad Stadium:
Asked how they can recover after such a huge blow, Pep Guardiola defiantly replied: “All together, as always.” The problem is that City are now running out of time in their bid to catch Arsenal.
Wednesday’s draw took City to a seven-game winning streak at home in all competitions, conceding more than two goals at the Etihad for the first time since November. Any real faith in this title push is definitely slipping.
In total, City have dropped 13 points in the title standings this season, a figure that puts them out of sync with the champions. If this title had been due to end in Manchester this year, you can’t help but think that Sabinho’s extra-time effort had somehow sneaked in instead of being taken off the line by Murillo.
Or maybe Erling Haaland will get one of the two penalties he claimed. Or another of the five big opportunities created actually happens. Letting the lead slip twice in the same game means they also gave up control of the run-in.
Before being held to a draw with Forest, City were in a position to take the crown if they won all their remaining games, including hosting Arsenal. That luxury no longer exists, and this is as much a psychological blow as a material blow. Mikel Arteta will be quietly happy.
