Did Erling Haaland deserve a red card for his rash challenge on Mykolenko? Pep answers

Manchester City head coach Pep Guardiola has given his take on whether Erling Haaland deserved a red card or not following the Norwegian striker's rash tackle on Vitalii Mykolenko. Haaland was perhaps lucky not to be sent off after he took out the Everton left-back from behind.

'We can't play 10 v 11': Pep on Haaland's tackle

While speaking about Erling Haaland's challenge on Vitalii Mykolenko after the Manchester City vs Everton clash, Pep Guardiola told reporters, "I will talk with Haaland about that. It was a yellow card, definitely. With the yellow for Erling, I said to be careful because it can be dangerous. We cannot play 10 v 11. He was a little bit angry after what happened in the first act with his ankle. He reacted well and we did a good game."

Erling Haaland scores but fails to help Man City beat Everton

Erling Haaland had seemingly put Manchester City on course for victory in a scrappy Premier League contest at the Etihad Stadium after he scored his 21st league goal in the 24th minute of the match. However, that was not enough to help his side win the clash as Demarai Gray scored a spectacular equalizer in the 64th minute.

John Stones had earlier hit the post against his former club but Everton showed great resilience to hang on and limit City’s formidable Haaland-led attack. As a result of the 1-1 draw, the Toffees ended a run of three straight league losses and eased some of the pressure on manager Frank Lampard.

As for Manchester City, it means that they are now seven points behind leaders Arsenal in the fight for the Premier League title. The Gunners extended their lead over the Cityzens following their outstanding 4-2 win over Brighton. Bukayo Saka opened the scoring for Mikel Arteta's side in the second minute before Martin Odegaard and Eddie Nketiah also scored to put Arsenal 3-0 up by the 47th minute.

At this point, it seemed that the visitors were cruising to an easy win. However, a goal each from Kaoru Mitoma in the 65th minute brought some life back into a sluggish Brighton side. Even though Gabriel Martinelli scored a fourth for Arsenal in the 71st minute, it was not the easiest of games for them to hang on. Evan Ferguson got another goal back for the home side before a VAR check ruled out a goal in the 89th minute that could have potentially made it 4-3.

(Inputs from AP)