Newcastle, Nov 23 (IANS) Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola refused to fault the match officials after his team’s 2–1 Premier League defeat to Newcastle United on Saturday, even though the game featured several contentious incidents.

Guardiola and his coaching staff appealed vigorously for a first-half penalty following a challenge on Phil Foden, and Newcastle’s eventual winner underwent an extended VAR check for multiple potential infringements before being confirmed.

“It is what it is after VAR decided. They know perfectly,” Guardiola told the BBC, adding that he had “no questions” despite talking to the referee after the final whistle.

The first half featured numerous missed chances from both teams, and all the scoring arrived in a seven-minute burst between the 63rd and 70th minutes. Newcastle’s Harvey Barnes netted twice, with Ruben Dias grabbing a City equaliser in between.

“Both keepers were good and after we missed chances,” Guardiola said. “It was an entertaining game with many chances, we were closer in the beginning.”

The loss prevented City from cutting into Arsenal’s lead at the top of the table. Arsenal sit on 26 points, while City remain third with 22 points and have played one match more.

“Newcastle is a top side, top players, top manager so unfortunately tonight we could not make the momentum that we had,” Guardiola said.

“It was an entertaining game, we both had chances and then there was a momentum shift, and ultimately we couldn’t win.”

For Harvey Barnes, the scorer for 14th-placed Newcastle, a rare victory over City was exactly the boost the team needed after a sluggish start to the season.

“Hopefully after today’s result we can kick on and go on a good run,” he told the BBC.

–IANS

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