Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne has echoed manager Pep Guardiola’s concerns that players are not getting enough protection from hard challenges.
City have lost Leroy Sane until the middle of March at the earliest after a nasty challenge from Cardiff City’s Joe Bennett in last weekend’s FA Cup clash, while De Bruyne had to deal with a robust tackle from Irish international James McClean before scoring in Wednesday night’s 3-0 victory at home to West Brom.
Speaking to the Guardian ahead of this weekend’s clash at Burnley, the Belgian midfielder feels that, having watched it back, McClean should have been sent off for the challenge rather than the yellow card that he did receive once play had been brought back after the advantage:
“I didn’t know the tackle was like that, I’ve just seen it. Let’s just say the ball was not in the neighbourhood.
“The referee told me he didn’t touch me good enough to get the red card but obviously I told him: ‘I saw the guy, I was jumping.’
“Sometimes it gets frustrating for us. A lot of teams are making a lot of fouls against us. We make a foul, we get a yellow card, I don’t know how it’s possible sometimes. I know sometimes there are tactical fouls, but it’s just the way it is.”
The incident in question can be sen below, with McClean flying in on De Bruyne just as he was pulling away towards to West Brom penalty area.
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Man City also lost David Silva to injury at the Etihad on Wednesday night, while teammate Brahim Diaz managed to avoid picking up a knock after a heavy challenge from West Brom’s Matt Phillips – one that West Brom midfielder was also probably lucky to stay on the pitch after making.
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