Pep Guardiola fumes as Man City surrender two-goal lead in Spurs chaos

By SABC Sport
2nd February 2026

Pep Guardiola cut a frustrated figure after Manchester City let a 2-0 advantage slip in a dramatic 2-2 draw at Tottenham, with the City manager openly questioning the decision to allow Dominic Solanke's first goal to stand.

City appeared in control before Spurs swung the momentum early in the second half. Solanke pulled a goal back for the hosts, but Guardiola felt the strike should have been ruled out after contact on defender Marc Guehi in the build-up.

Neither the referee nor VAR intervened, and the decision proved a turning point in a game that saw City drop valuable ground in the Premier League title race.

Solanke later volleyed a fine equaliser to complete Spurs' comeback and lift the mood around head coach Thomas Frank, while leaving City six points adrift of leaders Arsenal.

When asked about the incident, Guardiola was pointed in his response. "OK, then you make the answer [for me]," he said. "If it's a central defender to a striker it's a penalty, right? You said the same, so you saw it."

Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live, Guardiola described refereeing debates in England as "fascinating", before expanding in his press conference. "There was an emotional issue for the first goal that the referee conceded to Spurs," he said. "After that, the momentum is difficult to control, whatever happens here in England."

The City boss has raised concerns over several decisions in recent weeks, including calls in matches against Newcastle, Manchester United and Wolves. Asked if his view had changed, Guardiola replied: "Nothing changed the opinion I had in the past."

Frank acknowledged the controversy around Solanke's opener. "There's clear contact from him on it," he said. "I understand it's in the grey area. We want, in general, a higher threshold for fouls. I'm just very happy it finally dropped for us, which I think was more than fair."

Despite missing 11 players through injury and illness, Spurs showed resilience, a point Frank was keen to stress. "This team's ability to respond to setbacks is growing bit by bit," he said. "We are more competitive. It's going in the right direction."