Well, at least there were talking points.
Manchester City made it 16 Premier League wins in a row after beating Tottenham 4-1 at the Etihad Stadium. But the scoreline doesn’t nearly tell the full story of a match packed with controversial decisions, which were the saving grace of an otherwise forgettable spectacle.
Any hope of Spurs offering a more robust challenge to City to Manchester United last week was soon crushed. City took a 14th-minute lead through Ilkay Gundogan, who was left unmarked in the area to head home Leroy Sane’s corner.
From there, Craig Pawson became the unwitting main protagonist in the narrative. The first incident came when the score was only 1-0 when Nicolas Otamendi booted Harry Kane straight in the face. Some sections of social media, particularly those who remembered Liverpool forward Sadio Mane’s dismissal for a similar incident against City earlier this season.
So Mane kicks Ederson in the face and it’s a red, then Otamendi kicks Kane in the face and it’s not a red. Interesting. How about Rose shoving over a City player in the box and no penalty is given while Lovren gets bumped into by Calvert Lewin and it’s a penalty.
— Sam (@sjsfutbol) December 16, 2017
Otamendi with a Mane style kick to Kane’s head. Ref gives no card. Prem refs are a fucking farce.
— Kenny (@KopAce74) December 16, 2017
Before half-time, it was City’s turn to be outraged after Danny Rose’s clear push on Eliaqium Mangala. The England left-back put both hands on the defender’s back to nudge him out of the way and, considering its similarity to Dejan Lovren’s push on Dominic Calvert-Lewin last week which won Everton a penalty, many wondered why Rose was not penalised. Perhaps crucially, Mangala stayed on his feet while Calvert-Lewin went to ground under Lovren’s challenge.
Six minutes after the restart, Harry Kane’s reckless lunge on Raheem Sterling was easily enough to get the striker sent off. Pawson missed it though, his back almost entirely turned as he anticipated the ball going up the pitch.
Less than 20 minutes later, Dele Alli was lucky to escape a red when he clamped down on Kevin De Bruyne’s ankle. The Spurs midfielder went over the top of the ball and, in truth, the Belgian was fortunate not to come away with a serious injury. What he did come away with, however, was renewed determination, killing the game off with City’s second goal just two minutes after the incident.
So, there were three clear red cards in this match: Otamendi, Kane and Alli. Spurs lost heavily but, if Pawson hadn’t been so lenient, their afternoon would have been much worse with the dismissal of two key players. Then again, Otamendi could have easily seen red and City certainly wouldn’t have been so rampant in the second half with ten men.
In fairness to Pawson, he got the penalty decision correct, but it was as blatant a penalty as you will see all season, with Jan Vertonghen cynically scything down De Bruyne.
The buzzword surrounding referees these days seems to be consistency. Everyone wants it. Fans want it, as do players, coaches and the officials themselves (that way, they’d probably get a bit more peace and quiet).
Unfortunately, this game didn’t bode well for the current standard of officiating in the Premier League. With every passing week, VAR seems like more of an inevitability.
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