Jude Bellingham labelled the refereeing in Borussia Dortmund's Champions League defeat at Chelsea a "joke", though he warned he would not talk himself into another fine.
Dortmund took a 1-0 lead to Stamford Bridge for the second leg on Tuesday after Karim Adeyemi's goal at Signal Iduna Park gave them the advantage in the round of 16 tie.
But Raheem Sterling equalised on aggregate in the 43rd minute, before Marius Wolf was adjudged to have handled Ben Chilwell's cross in the Dortmund box from close range shortly after the break.
Kai Havertz hit the post with his initial penalty, but a retake was ordered after a Dortmund player allegedly encroached, with Havertz making no mistake with the second spot-kick by sending Alexander Meyer the wrong way as Chelsea held on to dump Dortmund out.
Bellingham, who was fined €40,000 (£35,665) by the German Football Association (DFB) in 2021 for criticising referee Felix Zwayer, was unhappy with both the decision to award a penalty and the ruling of a retake, blaming Havertz's run-up for his team-mates edging into the area.
"From where I was it looked like he was pretty close and I'm not sure what more he can do with his hands," Bellingham told BT Sport. "It's a yard or two away.
"I don't want to get in trouble, I've paid enough to them lot.
"That in itself was disappointing, and then the fact they've had a retake I think is a joke. For every penalty, especially when you have such a slow run-up, there's going to be people encroaching into the box by a yard or so.
"But that's the game I suppose, he's made a decision and we have to live with it."
Dortmund head coach Edin Terzic was keen to focus on his team's shortcomings rather than blame the referee, though he also felt it was a tight call that went against his side.
"I'm responsible for the performance of our team and my performance," Terzic said. "I don't want to talk about the referee.
"It's now the third time your [media] colleagues are asking me the question. I think it was a tight call and a harsh decision but that's how it goes."
Despite the defeat, Terzic was proud of his players and pointed to Chelsea's huge spending in the transfer market as evidence of his team competing at the top level.
"Fair play to Chelsea and congratulations," Terzic added. "It was two very tight games and in the end, inches decide whether you go to the next round or not.
"We have enough quality in the team and that's the good thing. These two games, this is what we want. We don't want to compete with Chelsea in the transfer market, we want to compete with Chelsea on the matchday and I think we did it twice."
Man City’s holy grail and Pep’s tactics – Champions League final talking points
Manchester City face Inter Milan in the Champions League final in Istanbul on Saturday.
Here, the PA news agency looks at some talking points ahead of the game.
City’s holy grailWinning the Champions League has been City’s top objective since their takeover by Sheikh Mansour in 2008 and, after a number of near-misses, it now feels tantalisingly within reach. Beating Inter Milan would complete a mission for the club’s hierarchy, as it would for Pep Guardiola, the man they hired to deliver it. Despite City’s near-dominance of the domestic scene in recent years, and the regularity with which they have reached the Champions League’s latter stages, Guardiola has admitted the club need to win it to truly underline their greatness. On a personal level too, Guardiola has been the greatest coach of his generation but it has now been 12 years since the second of his two triumphs with a Lionel Messi-inspired Barcelona and it is an itch he needs to scratch.
Treble bidVictory would not only fulfil a long-held ambition for City, but complete a glorious treble, earning them a place in the history books alongside arch-rivals Manchester United as only the second side to win the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League in the same season. United achieved the feat in 1999, at a time when City were fighting for promotion from the third tier. How their fans are enjoying the change in circumstances 24 years on.
Tactics and formCity will head into this game against the side that finished third in Serie A as overwhelming favourites. After an inconsistent spell either side of the World Cup, they hit form in the spring to reel in Arsenal at the top of the Premier League and power into two major finals. Their level of performance has arguably been better than anything they have produced before under Guardiola, with some particularly outstanding displays in key games against the Gunners, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid. Guardiola has often been accused of overthinking and getting things wrong tactically in the key matches, but there seems little reason to deviate now from what has worked well this season.
No injury worriesCity would appear to have a clean bill of health. There were concerns when Kyle Walker did not appear at an open training session on Tuesday, having been substituted late in the FA Cup final on Saturday, but the player allayed any worries, saying he would not miss the Champions League final “for anything”. Guardiola is therefore unlikely to stray much from the side which started against Arsenal and both legs against Madrid, which was: Ederson, Walker, Stones, Dias, Akanji, Rodri, Gundogan, Grealish, Silva, De Bruyne, Haaland.
Inter’s planInter will be determined not to make up the numbers but manager Simone Inzaghi probably recognises City are likely to dominate possession, putting his side’s notably tough defence to the test. The Italians will hope to soak up the pressure and catch City on the counter, looking to the likes of Lautaro Martinez, Edin Dzeko and Romelu Lukaku to take any chances that come their way.
A World Cup-winning striker and mean defence – Inter’s strengths and weaknesses
Manchester City face Inter Milan in the Champions League final in Istanbul on Saturday. Here, the PA news agency looks at some of the strengths and weaknesses of the Italian side.
StrengthsDogged defence
Inter’s progression to this weekend’s showcase at the Ataturk Stadium owes a lot to a stingy defence. Simone Inzaghi’s combative team emerged from a group containing Bayern Munich and Barcelona. They have also kept a tournament-high eight clean sheets in their 12 matches, including five from six in the knockout stages, with goalkeeper Andre Onana a star performer.
Lautaro Martinez
Argentinian World Cup winner Martinez has once again been a potent threat up front for Inter this season. The 25-year-old, who is supported by the experienced pair of former City striker Edin Dzeko and Romelu Lukaku, has been prolific over the past four years. Ahead of the semi-final, he urged his club-mates to harness the unity which led to his country triumphing in Qatar and that could again serve them well.
Underdog status
Inzaghi revealed his remit was to reach the last 16 of the Champions League when he was appointed in the summer of 2021. He satisfied that target last term before exceeding expectations this time around. He knows City will be overwhelming favourites and under greater pressure to deliver, and he has shown he can use such situations to his advantage.
WeaknessesInconsistency
Despite their impressive run in Europe, Inter endured a mixed domestic campaign and the Serie A champions of 2021 were unable to keep pace with runaway winners Napoli. Their final position of third place owed a lot to a late-season charge as well as pressure being eased by Juventus’ 10-point penalty. Inzaghi’s men lost a large percentage of their games – 12 of 38 – but benefitted from keeping draws – just three – to a minimum.
Unfamiliar territory
As three-time winners, most recently in 2010, Inter have historical pedigree in Europe but their recent big-game experience on this stage is limited. Since Jose Mourinho carried them to glory 13 years ago, they have progressed beyond the group stage just four times. That contrasts starkly with City’s record. The English club have reached the knockout stages in each of the past 10 seasons and progressed to at least the semi-finals in the last three. They were also finalists in 2021.
Lack of attacking width?
Inzaghi has developed a well-balanced side operating in a 3-5-2 system, bucking modern trends by playing with two strikers. The formation allows the 47-year-old to make the most of his four forwards – Martinez, Lukaku, Joaquin Correa and Dzeko. Yet the reliance on wing-backs alone to provide width in attacking areas can lead to play becoming concentrated in the centre of the pitch and makes it difficult to break down opponents.
Big wins over Bayern and Real – Man City’s route to the Champions League final
Manchester City take on Inter Milan in the Champions League final in Istanbul on Saturday.
Here, the PA news agency looks at their route to the Ataturk Stadium.
Group stage (Manchester City 14pts, Borussia Dortmund 9, Sevilla 5, Copenhagen 3)City dominated Group G to ease into the knockout stages for a 10th consecutive season with two matches to spare. The game that saw them clinch their spot was actually a forgettable goalless draw in Copenhagen in which Sergio Gomez was sent off, but the job had been largely done with victories in their first three games. They opened with a 4-0 victory over Sevilla, came from behind to beat Dortmund 2-1 with Erling Haaland grabbing the late winner against his former club and thrashed the Danes first time round 5-0. They were then held 0-0 in Dortmund but finished off by beating Sevilla 3-1 at home.
Last 16: RB Leipzig (won 8-1 on aggregate)Pep Guardiola’s side failed to make their dominance count as they were held to a 1-1 draw by the Germans at the Red Bull Arena but any doubts after that game were swiftly put aside in the second leg. City romped to a 7-0 win in the return with the prolific Haaland helping himself to five goals. Kevin De Bruyne and Ilkay Gundogan also got on the scoresheet. Riyad Mahrez scored City’s goal in the first leg before Josko Gvardiol hit back.
Quarter-finals: Bayern Munich (won 4-1 on aggregate)Haaland made one of many entries into the record books as City all but wrapped up their place in the last four with an impressive 3-0 win over German giants Bayern in the first leg at the Etihad Stadium. Haaland netted his 45th goal of the campaign – a record for a Premier League player across all competitions – after an earlier Rodri stunner and Bernardo Silva effort. The Norwegian missed a penalty in the return at the Allianz Arena but bounced back to make it 4-0 on aggregate before Bayern finally registered with a late Joshua Kimmich spot-kick.
Semi-finals: Real Madrid (won 5-1 on aggregate)City produced arguably their greatest performance under Guardiola as they ruthlessly dethroned holders and 14-time champions Madrid to avenge their loss at the same stage last year. They dominated the first leg at the Bernabeu Stadium in terms of possession but were caught by a counter-attack and had to settle for a 1-1 draw as superb strikes from Vinicius Junior and De Bruyne cancelled each other out. They moved up a gear in the second leg and completely overran Carlo Ancelotti’s side. Silva struck twice and Manuel Akanji and Julian Alvarez also scored in a clinical and resounding display.
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