Pep Guardiola and Kyle Walker disagreed as they reacted to Manchester City’s 1-1 draw at Nottingham Forest.
The Premier League champions dominated for long spells and took the lead through Bernardo Silva shortly before half-time. City wasted a string of chances to extend their lead and they were made to pay when substitute Chris Wood tapped home inside the final 10 minutes. The result was greeted like a victory at a jubilant City Ground but it was a damaging result for City, who saw title rivals Arsenal win dramatically at Aston Villa in the early kick-off.
While disappointed with the result and his side’s failure to convert their chances, Guardiola was pleased with the overall performance.
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“It was a brilliant performance, we played really good but we didn’t score,” he said. “The first half should already be 2-0 or 3-0, we conceded one shot on target and we dropped points. We are sad and disappointed but the way we played was really good.
“We missed goals that were one metre to the goalkeeper, not just one, a few. That is why we didn’t win. What can I say?
“It happens in football. Today we were much better than the opponent but we have to score goals. We didn’t do it so we have to blame ourselves.”
However, defender Kyle Walker delivered a very different verdict, branding the result “unacceptable”.
“We go to the Emirates and play a game like we did, then come here and drop points, it’s unacceptable,” he said. “If we want to compete with teams around the top, we need to come here and win.
“We missed a few chances in front of net but we need to do better collectively as a team if we want to hang on to a 1-0. Sometimes it’s football, sometimes it’s emotional, but that’s an excuse, every game should be treated the same, like a cup final.
“What can I say? It’s unacceptable, we know it’s unacceptable. We have to move forward as a team.”
When told of Walker’s comments, a confused-looking Guardiola said: “The way we played is more than acceptable. We played really, really good, we just had to score goals.”
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