Guardiola will ‘be careful’ with at risk Man City duo as he’s left baffled by Haaland’s disallowed goal

Pep Guardiola lauded his Manchester City players after they were held to a draw against an “exceptional” Brighton team on Wednesday night.

Man City were crowned Premier League champions over the weekend as Arsenal lost 1-0 to Nottm Forest on Saturday evening. The next day, Guardiola’s side earned all three points against Chelsea.

This was their 12th Premier League win in a row but they dropped points at the AMEX Stadium on Wednesday.

City and Brighton played out a thrilling game and they were made to settle for a draw. Phil Foden’s opener was cancelled out by a stunning goal from Julio Enciso.

Man City travel to face Brentford this weekend in their final Premier League game of the 2022/23 campaign. This is before they look to complete the treble as they are still vying for the FA Cup and Champions League.

Speaking after City’s 1-1 draw at Brighton, Guardiola praised his players for “showing why they are champions” just two days after they “drank all the alcohol in Manchester”.

“Exceptional game. Congratulations to Brighton for their deserved qualification to the Europa League,” Guardiola told Sky Sports.

“The game we played, 48 hours after we drank all the alcohol in Manchester, 48 hours later we behaved and we showed why we were the champions against that team.

“We showed what we have done with and without the ball. I didn’t see one drop in our intensity and idea. They had chances, we had chances, we scored a goal, they scored a goal.

“Both teams want the ball, both teams want to press. The keepers are fundamental in this game. The quality they have, they are an exceptional team.”

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Erling Haaland’s looked to have scored a winner for Man City in the second half but his goal was ruled out. He was adjudged to have fouled Levi Colwill in the build-up.

Guardiola was booked after he responded angrily to this goal being disallowed goal and he remains baffled by the decision.

“Watch it. Watch it, if it’s a fault, every action for Erling is a fault,” Guardiola added.

On his yellow card: “I was complaining about the goal being disallowed.

“It was absolutely [a tough test], this time Brighton, they destroy the other opponents they have been playing. They did it in certain moments, especially the last 10 or 15 minutes, we struggled but we did really well.

“We cannot drop momentum. I didn’t see it, against Chelsea I didn’t see it today. During the week we have to rest, and recover mentally. It’s been demanding for the past six months playing Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and chasing Arsenal. The training now is just relaxed.

“Phil [Foden] and John [Stones] feel comfortable. We have to be careful.”

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