Ange Postecoglou lamented that VAR has diminished the authority of referees after he watched nine-man Tottenham lose 4-1 to Chelsea.
A frenetic meeting between the two rivals saw five disallowed goals, two red cards, a penalty and two Spurs players forced off during the first half with injury, as Blues boss Mauricio Pochettino marked his return to north London by ending the Premier League’s last unbeaten record.
But the match was dominated by VAR’s involvement with the red cards two of nine decisions referred to the video referee.
Even with nine men the hosts continued to take the game to Chelsea and were well in the contest before Nicolas Jackson twice sprung their high line in stoppage time to add his team’s third and fourth goals and complete an unlikely hat-trick.
Postecoglou’s team had been comfortably on top in the first half before Cristian Romero’s red card in the 33rd minute, dismissed for a dangerous challenge on Enzo Fernandez and conceding the penalty from which Cole Palmer equalised Dejan Kulusevski’s deflected goal.
Destiny Udogie followed 10 minutes into the second half, receiving a second yellow card for a foul on Raheem Sterling, but it took a further 20 minutes before Chelsea finally took the lead for the first time through Jackson.
Spurs’ night was compounded by the loss of James Maddison and Micky van de Ven to injury, on top of what is likely to be a three-game ban for Romero.
But it was VAR’s impact that dominated Postecoglou’s thoughts after the game after a total of 21 minutes were added on at the end of each half.
“It’s hard to analyse from a football perspective,” he said.
“We’re left with a result which is disappointing, but (I’m) super-proud of the players’ efforts and will and desire to get something from the game.
“(Lengthy VAR pauses) are going to become the norm, I think it’s where the game is heading. Unfortunately it’s how we’re going to have to watch and participate in football from now on.
“I don’t like it. I don’t like the standing around, the whole theatre around waiting for decisions. But I know I’m in the wilderness on that.
“In my 26 years, I was always prepared to accept the referee’s decision, good, bad or otherwise, and I’ve had some shockers in my career. I’ve had some go my way as well.
“I’ll cop that because I just want the game to be played. But when we’re complaining about decisions every week, this is what’s going to happen.
“People are going to forensically scrutinise everything to make sure they’re comfortable it’s right, and even at the end of that, we’re still not happy.
“It’s just diminishing the authority of the referee. You can’t tell me referees are in control of games. They’re not. Control is outside of that, but that’s where the game’s going. You have to accept it and try and deal with it.”
Pochettino reflected on a game in which, despite a host of contentious decisions, he felt his team were deserved victors.
“I think we deserved to win,” he said.
“We forced them to make too many mistakes. Tottenham were better in the first 15 minutes but then we matched the game. Our performance was good.
“Everything you can see during the game I think was fair. We compare to the Tottenham/Liverpool game, a similar game like today. Liverpool complained. But today, everything that happened was fair. That’s why I think 4-1, the performance was good.”
Nuno encouraged by Forest's attitude and commitment, despite Man City defeat
Nuno Espirito Santo believes Nottingham Forest will "achieve what we want" by replicating the attitude demonstrated during their defeat by Manchester City.
Forest went down 2-0 against their title-chasing opponents at the City Ground, and remain just a point clear of the relegation zone with three games remaining.
Despite the defeat, the hosts produced a spirited performance against Pep Guardiola's side, while registering 14 shots on goal compared to 11 from the Citizens - meaning they had had more shots in both meetings this season.
Forest face already relegated Sheffield United, Chelsea and fellow strugglers Burnley in their final three games, and Nuno has seen enough to be confident of securing the Reds' Premier League status for another year.
"We played a good game, were compact, organised and had chances," he told Sky Sports. "We did a good job regarding how hard it is to play against Manchester City, and the players gave it a big go.
"We are disappointed with the result, but the encouragement comes from the way we work, how committed we are, and what we have ahead of us. This is more important.
"We stay positive, and we go for the next three games. With this attitude, we will achieve what we want."
Defender Moussa Niakhate echoes his manager's thoughts, adding: "We had three big chances in the first half, but we didn't score. That was the difference.
"Everybody is working hard. We can be proud. If we perform like this in the next three games, we'll stay up."
Napoli 2-2 Roma: Late Abraham header denies wasteful hosts
A wasteful Napoli were held to a 2-2 draw at home by Roma in Serie A, with a late Tammy Abraham header securing a point for the visitors.
The visitors took the lead from the penalty spot a minute before the hour mark, with Paulo Dybala converting after Juan Jesus fouled Sardar Amzoun.
However, Napoli equalised six minutes later through Matias Olivera's deflected shot, and completed the turnaround with their own penalty six minutes from time as Victor Osimhen tucked away after Khvicha Kvaratskhelia was felled by Renato Sanches.
The hosts could not hold on, though, and were pegged back with two minutes to go. Substitute Abraham's header from a corner was eventually awarded following a VAR review after he had initially been ruled offside.
Data debrief
Napoli remain eighth in the Serie A table on 50 points, the exact amount they had registered after their opening 19 games of last season.
Though his penalty was not enough to earn Roma victory, Dybala continued his impressive start to 2024, during which he has been involved in the joint-most goals in Serie A with 12 (nine goals, three assists).
Gvardiol: Four more finals for City in title fight
Josko Gvardiol believes there are "four more finals" for Manchester City between them and the Premier League title.
City won 2-0 at Nottingham Forest on Sunday thanks to a first-half header from Gvardiol before a 71st-minute Erling Haaland finish wrapped up the points.
The victory moves City one point behind leaders Arsenal with a game in hand. The Gunners played earlier on Sunday, winning 3-2 at north London rivals Tottenham.
The destination of the Premier League title remains in City's hands as they bid for a sixth Premier League title in seven seasons, and Gvardiol acknowledged that every game between now and the end of the season is vital.
"We need to be focused on ourselves," Gvardiol told Sky Sports. "That’s what we are doing.
"There are four more finals to the end so let's do it."
Gvardiol's goal set City on course for victory at the City Ground, nodding home from Kevin De Bruyne's inswinging corner.
It was only Gvardiol's second Premier League goal since arriving at City from RB Leipzig prior to this season.
Gvardiol was somewhat surprised to get on the scoresheet, saying: "I didn't expect to score, but I found myself in a good position.
"It was really tough especially as the pitch was really dry. It's a more than important three points."
Pep Guardiola was delighted to come away with the three points against a Forest side fighting for their lives at the bottom, with the defeat to City leaving Nuno Espirito Santo's men in a perilous position, just a point above the relegation zone with three games to play.
"It was a difficult game," Guardiola told Sky Sports. "They played with bravery. They have fast players with a lot of quality.
"It is a great victory as we had a lot of games behind us. These games are so, so tough at this stage in the Premier League. Now we have a long week to recover."
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