Bernardo Silva has expressed that crucial refereeing decisions against Manchester City are impacting Pep Guardiola’s squad in their pursuit of the title.
After a 2-2 draw with Nottingham Forest at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday, City found themselves seven points behind leaders Arsenal.
Silva was particularly frustrated with referee Darren England‘s failure to award a penalty following Matz Sels‘ challenge on Erling Haaland when the score was 2-1.
Following the match, he admitted there was a sense of frustration in the dressing room, stemming from the belief that they have consistently been on the wrong end of tight calls this season.
“I feel that all the 50-50 [decisions] this season have gone against us,” Silva said. “Every single one. It’s quite disheartening, as it significantly affects the title race.”
City was leading 2-1 when Haaland fell in the penalty area after Sels slid towards him. However, England dismissed the appeals, and the incident was reviewed and cleared by VAR official Tony Harrington.
“If Erling is running and the goalkeeper crashes into him, what can he do—just vanish?” Silva questioned.
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“Can a goalkeeper just charge into a player? He isn’t even attempting to shoot because the goalkeeper is coming at him. Does he just disappear?”
After dropping points against Forest and with Arsenal’s close victory over Brighton, City now faces a challenging path in the title race.
Guardiola’s team has a pivotal series of matches before the international break in March, which includes five games across three competitions: an FA Cup match against Newcastle, a two-legged Champions League tie against Real Madrid, and the Carabao Cup final against Arsenal.
“In the coming weeks, I think we might not win a lot, but we could lose a lot,” Silva warned. “So this month is crucial for us to remain competitive across all competitions, apart from the Carabao Cup final, of course. We need to stay in the fight for all four tournaments as long as possible.”