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• Pep Guardiola unhappy at Rodri for red card in Man City win

  Pep Guardiola admitted he was angry with Rodri after the influential midfielder was sent off in Manchester City’s 2-0 win over Nottingham Forest.

  The Spain international was dismissed early in the second half of Saturday’s Premier League clash at the Etihad Stadium after raising his hands to the neck of Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White.

  Rodri protested at the time, and there was a delay before referee Anthony Taylor’s decision was upheld by VAR, but Guardiola claimed there could be no excuses for his conduct.

  The City manager said: “Hopefully Rodri will learn. The game was perfect with 35 minutes gone and after it became chaos.

  “That’s not our responsibility, that’s for sure, but Rodri has to control himself and his emotions. I can get a yellow card but Rodri can’t. I don’t play. The guys inside (the pitch) have to be careful.

  “I said at half-time, ‘Be careful guys, relax, control your emotions’. Unfortunately, Rodri could not do it. Now we have to accept the decisions.”

  Asked if he was angry with Rodri, Guardiola said: “Yes. I don’t like to play with 10 for our faults. He has apologised.”

  Despite being critical of Rodri, Guardiola was not happy with the way the game was controlled by Taylor.

  As well as Rodri’s red card, there were 11 bookings during the game, including one for Guardiola himself.

  Guardiola said: “The referee changed the game.

  “For the first 35 minutes, it was absolutely not (a bad game). What changed? What happened after 2-0, it’s not down to us. You have to ask the other ones but I don’t know if they will hang up the phone.”

  City had put themselves into a comfortable lead with goals inside the first 14 minutes from Phil Foden and Erling Haaland.

  After Rodri’s departure, the hosts needed to change approach and Guardiola was pleased with the outcome.

  He said: “Our game in the first 35 minutes was beyond good, how we find our men free, it was really, really good.

  “It was a lot of minutes we had to defend, and we conceded one chance in the 94th minute. We didn’t concede anything else, against a team who won at Stamford Bridge and created problems at Arsenal and Old Trafford.

  “I’m really satisfied and pleased for all of us.”

  Forest manager Steve Cooper had conflicting thoughts about his side’s performance.

  He said: “We had a really poor start in terms of goals conceded. We knew the level of the challenge we faced here – it doesn’t get any tougher – and the two City goals were of great quality, typical City goals.

  “But we’d planned for that. It was a repeat tactic and to let it happen as easily as they did – if they were going to score I wanted it to be with real difficulty.

  “The game changes with the red card. That we had a second half played in City’s half I have mixed feelings about.

  “You rarely get an opportunity to have that territory here. Even more experienced teams don’t get anywhere near that but we need to make more of these opportunities. We have got to be more productive.”

• Barbados, Bermuda register wins in League B

  The Road to the Concacaf Women’s Gold Cup continued with two League B encounters on Friday. Bermuda and Barbados started the tournament with three-point performances at home.

  Barbados takes the top of Group C on goal difference given their larger margin of victory, while Bermuda starts in position to challenge for first place. The Dominican Republic and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines will look to avenge their defeats with a home match next week.

  Bermuda vs Dominican Republic

  Bermuda opened their campaign with a 2-0 home win over the Dominican Republic at the National Sports Centre in Devonshire Parish, Bermuda.

  Jaden Masters opened the scoring in the 10th with a rocket from long range to send the home fans into ecstasy. This came just seconds after the Lady Warriors were close to taking the lead on an attempt from Eva Frazzoni going just wide.

  Winibian Peralta attempted to equalize in the 20th from a free kick but the attempt was caught by goalkeeper Zakhari Turner.

  Lucia Marte provided a dangerous hit across goal in the 32th as the Dominican Republic continued to search for the tying goal.

  Masters earned her brace in the 45+1 on a Bermuda fast break, slipping the ball past goalkeeper Odaliana Gomez just outside the edge of the box.

  Masters nearly completed her hat-trick in the 55th but Gomez made a big stop to keep the score within reach. 

  Turner ended the day with seven saves as she collected her first clean sheet of the tournament and Bermuda its first three points.

  Barbados vs Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

  Barbados won 5-0 over Saint Vincent and the Grenadines to start its campaign at the Wildey Turf Stadium in Bridgetown, Barbados.

  Shanice Stevenson opened the scoring in the 10th from a free kick chance. Goalkeeper Altica Benn tried to stop the attempt but the potent was too much to contain.

  Rianna Cyrus extended the lead in the 19th with some nifty footwork inside the box to convert on a delivery from Shauntae Hinds.

  Cyrus extended the lead again in the 22th by evading the keeper and hitting a precise ball outside the right side of the goal area. Stevenson provided the through ball into the box.

  Prior to the halftime whistle, at 45+2, Cyrus completed her hat-trick off a free kick service from Stevenson.

  Cheyanna Burnett-Griffith scored a fifth for Barbados in the 75th with a strike off the bouncing ball. Keinelle Johnson provided the cross from the left flank to find Burnett-Griffith inside the area.

  The defense provided a strong outing in its home opener by holding Saint Vincent and the Grenadines to zero shots on target. Kamilla Burke made an important save outside the box during the closing minutes to preserve the clean sheet.

   

• Luton off the mark after come-from-behind draw against 10-man Wolves

  Luton claimed their first point of the Premier League season with a 1-1 draw against 10-men Wolves at Kenilworth Road.

  Carlton Morris’ penalty cancelled out Pedro Neto’s earlier strike to share the spoils in a positive Hatters performance.

  Rob Edwards will be proud of his side’s display but will leave thinking his side should have used the extra-man more effectively after Jean-Ricner Bellegarde was sent off in the 39th minute.

  Edwards experimented with a 4-4-2 and the change in shape worked in the early stages as the Hatters enjoyed possession and space out wide through Chiedozie Ogbene and Jacob Brown, who nearly got on the end of a dangerous cross in the fifth minute.

  Kenilworth Road’s vocal support set the tone and striker Morris nearly rewarded it in the 10th minute when his thunderous long-range effort cannoned off one of Jose Sa’s posts.

  Edwards would have wanted a response after a poor second half against Fulham last week and he got that through midfield duo Marvelous Nakamba and Albert Sambi Lokonga who relentlessly pressed, tackled and played dangerous passes as the hosts began to ramp up the pressure.

  Wolves began to work their way into the game after 30 minutes and strung neat passages together before the creative Bellegarde produced a stunning through ball in behind, but there was no one there to get on the end of it.

  But the Frenchman undid his positive work when he was shown a straight red card. The midfielder was dispossessed by Tom Lockyer and he kicked out at the Luton captain before he was given his marching orders by referee Josh Smith.

  Wolves held on during added time but the home side were hot out the traps in the second half when Morris got on the end of strike partner’s Ogbene’s cross in the 48th minute but his effort was saved by Sa.

  Luton were on top but it was Wolves who took a 1-0 lead against the run of play in the 50th minute.

  Neto gambled on a long ball and beat Lockyer in a foot race before he shrugged the defender off, cut in on his left foot and produced a thumping strike past Thomas Kaminski.

  The Premier League newcomers paid the price yet again for a simple lapse of concentration.

  Kenilworth Road cried out for a response and in the 65th minute Luton levelled the contest.

  Joao Gomes handled the ball in the box and after a VAR check Morris stepped up, stuttered in his run up and finished calmy past Sa into the bottom left corner.

  Target man Elijah Adebayo was brought on by Edwards and orange shirts marauded down the flanks and whipped in crosses in search of the striker but they were denied by Wolves’ tight defence.

  Nakamba’s shot was deflected into the path of Ogbene who finished his effort but it was ruled offside and Luton could not get the goal they searched for in six minutes of added time.