Manchester City's manager, Pep Guardiola, has asserted that the club's success has come "despite" unfavorable refereeing decisions, sparking debate after their recent 2-0 victory against Wolves. The win, which ended a run of four games without a victory, saw City narrow the gap to Arsenal at the top of the table to four points. However, Guardiola's post-match comments focused on what he perceived as officiating errors, overshadowing the team's performance.

Specifically, Guardiola was incensed by a decision from referee Farai Hallam, who was officiating his first Premier League game, to not award City a penalty. The incident involved a handball claim against Wolves' Yerson Mosquera after the ball was flicked onto his arm by Omar Marmoush. Despite a VAR review recommending Hallam to consult the pitch-side monitor, he stood by his original decision, deeming Mosquera's arm to be in a natural position. Guardiola expressed his frustration, suggesting that this incident compounded existing grievances.

Adding to his discontent, Guardiola referenced a prior incident in last week's Manchester derby where Manchester United's Diogo Dalot's tackle on Jeremy Doku went unpunished, with Dalot avoiding a red card. Guardiola also criticized PGMOL chief Howard Webb for publicly backing the decision. He claimed that the tackle forced Doku to miss their Champions League defeat to Bodo/Glimt.

Guardiola's comments reflect a broader sentiment of frustration that has been building over the past two seasons. He lamented, "These (last) two seasons I had the feeling, why don't I have the players? That is my only regret". He further stated, "I would love to have the players to fight against that (the refereeing decisions). They (City) won despite them".

Despite Guardiola's criticism, there were positives for Man City. Omar Marmoush, given a rare start in place of Erling Haaland, seized the opportunity and scored the opening goal. Antoine Semenyo, a recent signing from Bournemouth, continued his impressive form by adding another goal. Additionally, Marc Guehi made his debut for City at center-back following his move from Crystal Palace. Guardiola believes that both Guehi and Semenyo will significantly contribute in the remaining half of the season, as City remains competitive in four competitions. "Antoine came with incredible energy and strikers are about numbers. Since he arrived he has been unbelievable".