Pep Guardiola warned his Manchester City team to keep their emotions in check when they take a 1-0 lead to Spain for next week's Champions League quarter-final second leg. The Blues boss had to intervene after Jack Grealish reacted after having the ball kicked at him as he lay on the pitch.
That earned Angel Correa a yellow card, with City incensed it was not a red, and Grealish had already been the victim of a nasty foul by Rodrigo De Paul, seconds after going on as a substitute. With City 1-0 up, Atletico set about provocation and play-acting, and that led to Gabriel Jesus and Ederson both getting yellow cards - which means Jesus is ineligible for the second leg.
With the tie still evenly poised, Guardiola said his players need to keep their tempers in check next week and let the referee do his job. When asked about the fact he twice had to intervene to calm Grealish down, he said: "We have to control our emotions and do what we have to do.
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"There are things we are not good at. There will be a referee there. They face these kind of knockout stages many times, Atletico Madrid, more than us and it will be a good test for our maturity."
Guardiola said he was unaware that Jesus was already on a yellow card, but he knew Joao Cancelo and Kevin De Bruyne - who both started - were at risk."
Asked if Correa was lucky to stay on the field after lashing the ball at Grealish, Guardiola refused to be drawn. He said: "The referee is there, it is not my job. The referee is there, Jack reacted really well and focused on what we had to do."
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