Pep Guardiola has slammed suggestions his Manchester City stars are losing their discipline.
City have collected six red cards this season, including two on Saturday
when Sergio Aguero and Fernandinho were sent off towards the end of a
3-1 Premier League defeat against Chelsea.
Aguero has received a four-match ban after being dismissed for a wild
late challenge on David Luiz, having already served a three-game
suspension this season for elbowing West Ham's Winston Reid.
To make matters worse for City, Fernandinho has been banned for three
games following his red card for pushing Cesc Fabregas over an
advertising hoarding during the angry confrontations that followed
Aguero's tackle.
Guardiola believes that it is unusual for a team who have enjoyed so
much possession during matches to collect so many red cards, in what
could be perceived as a criticism of referees.
"The referees, I don't talk about. It is better that way. We are the
best team with ball possession and with most red cards," Guardiola said
on Monday.
"It is a pity what happened in the last minute and of course we are
going to accept the ban from the FA. We are going to work with other
players for the next games."
After brushing aside their disciplinary problems, Guardiola also
insisted his team are progressing in the right direction despite a shaky
run of form that has seen them fail to win a Premier League home game
since September 17.
"Of course I would have preferred to have won against Chelsea and we
would be top of the league. Then our analysis would be completely
different," Guardiola said.
"But I'm confident because we played 60, 65 minutes of good football. We
need to continue, continue, continue and when we do, we'll be there."
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