Not only did the Skyblues get a late equalizer from Dejan Kulusevski in the 90th minute of the game, but a referee’s decision in stoppage time also caused a stir.
The referee Simon Hooper whistled off the Citizens’ advantage in the 95th minute – and to the great excitement of everyone involved from Manchester, prevented the chance of a late winning goal. Jack Grealish was sent on his way after a foul on Erling Haaland – but the effort ended abruptly.
“Wtf” (What th f***), Haaland wrote about the scene on X (formerly Twitter).
In fact, Hooper initially clearly indicated that he would let the game continue, but then blew the whistle when Grealish was on the way to a possible winning goal.
The current champions therefore slip to third place in the table and have to be content with a two or three point gap to Liverpool and league leaders Arsenal.
Pep Guardiola’s team remained without a win in consecutive Premier League games for the first time since 2017. In November, Jürgen Klopp’s Reds won a 1-1 draw against City, while Chelsea fought to a 4-4 draw in a real spectacle.
The start of the game was extremely strange.
After Tottenham star Heung-Min Son put his men in front in the 6th minute, the South Korean scored the second goal just three minutes later. But it was 1:1. After a free kick from the half field, Son maneuvered the ball into his own goal in the best striker style.
As a result, the game developed evenly. Giovani Lo Celso (69th) equalized Manchester’s 2-1 by Phil Foden (31′). Jack Grealish’s celebrated goal in the 81st minute almost decided the game – before Kulusevski ended Sky Blue’s hopes of a three-pointer in the 90th minute.