Raheem Sterling was hit by Porto veteran Pepe’s knee during a heated Champions League clash at the Etihad on Wednesday night
The visitors took the lead early on thanks to a brilliant individual goal from Luis Diaz, but a penalty from Sergio Aguero soon after and goals from Ilkay Gundogan and Ferran Torres after the break secured a 3 victory -1 to Pep Guardiola’s team
But it was deep in the second half where Pepe’s frustrations boiled over after Sterling fell softly in search of a penalty, as the 37-year-old shouted at the England international before drag his knee to Sterling’s side
Yet although VAR is in place for the Champions League, no action has been taken against the Porto skipper
Sterling had previously won the penalty converted by Aguero, after Pepe’s reckless challenge against him in the 20th minute
Social media users were generally stunned that Pepe – known for his bad streak after 10 years at Real Madrid – was not given a red card after this latest incident
One user said: ‘How didn’t Pepe get kicked out for that knee on Sterling? while another similarly said: ‘How is Pepe doing with this assault on Sterling?’
‘A knee against the body is much more painful and dangerous than stroking someone’s face, which now kicks you out’
Meanwhile, Pep Guardiola later confirmed that City skipper Fernandinho will be out for 4-6 weeks after injuring himself in Wednesday’s game
« It’s bad news with Fernandinho », said Guardiola « He has a problem with his leg, he could be out for four or six weeks
« We have players coming back and now we are losing others. In three days we go to London, then three days is Marseille and then three days is Sheffield United
« The schedule is so demanding and we need all the players It’s a short recovery We had a perfect performance in the second half tonight Porto are a very good team It’s good to win games with pain «
FC Porto, Raheem Sterling, Manchester City FC, UEFA Champions League, Sergio Agüero, Pep Guardiola, İlkay Gündoğan
World news – GB – Pepe shows a bad streak again then that he seems to give Sterling a knee in the face
SOURCE: https://www.w24news.com
