“Four referees and the VAR could not make a decision”

Following a corner, in the 63rd minute, Semenyo's goal was disallowed for offside on Erling Haaland, who allegedly obstructed a Newcastle player. VAR and referee Chris Kavanagh reviewed the replay for six minutes, which left the City manager unhappy.

Pep Guardiola, harsh reaction against VAR

At the end of the match in the first leg of the English League Cup, Pep Guardiola spoke about a controversial decision by referee Chris Kavanagh. 9 minutes after opening the scoring in Newcastle – Manchester City, Antoine Semenyo scored for 2-0. But the Ghanaian's success was canceled after a long VAR review. Referee Chris Kavanagh ruled that Erling Haaland had prevented Thiaw from interfering with Semenyo's through ball. As the Norwegian was offside when he influenced the phase, the goal was disallowed.

The phase was also commented on by Pep Guardiola, angry at the “central” decision.

“It's really good, we were up to the task. This is the first step towards qualifying for the final. We know Bournemouth have done an incredible job with Semenyo and every time the ball comes to him, he's always in the right place.

Four referees and the VAR could not make a decision, it was necessary to refer to the main referee. We know how this works, it will make us stronger. I reacted exactly as I had to in this situation. It's a semi-final. We are making every effort to reach the final,” said Guardiola, according to skysports.com.

Eddie Howe, the coach of Newcastle, also spoke about the result recorded on Tuesday night, but also about the fact that he does not think the rule that allows Semenyo, the new transfer of the “citizens” to play against his team, is fair.

“I have to say that's a rule change that I probably wouldn't support at this point.” Prior to this season, the EPL only allowed a player to feature for one club during a League Cup campaign.

• However, EFL rules now state that a player can represent a maximum of two clubs in one campaign, meaning Semenyo was eligible to face Newcastle in the first leg at St James' Park

“We're still fighting there. I think there was a bit of naivety a minute before the end of the game that we were still trying to score a goal. At that point we had to defend after we got the structure wrong in that position and we got punished. All I can see is the effort level of the players and I think, given the effort they put in against Bournemouth on Saturday, it was an excellent effort from the lads against the weakest team, which could expose that fatigue,' he said,” Newcastle manager Eddie Howe said, per the aforementioned source.

The match between the two was the first leg of the English League Cup semi-final. The second leg will take place on February 4, from 22:00 at the Etihad Stadium. The winner of this duel will play in the final against Arsenal or Chelsea.