Pellegrini left angry at 'clear penalty' not given in Etihad stalemate
Blues held 0-0 by Everton
Manchester City were left lamenting a controversial late penalty decision as they dropped two points in the title race with a frustrating goalless draw at home to Everton.
Raheem Sterling looked to have been fouled by England defender John Stones in injury time of a lively Barclays Premier League clash at the Etihad Stadium, but referee Roger East saw it differently.
The stalemate means City remain three points behind league leaders Arsenal after they were pegged back to draw 3-3 with Liverpool, but manager Manuel Pellegrini was in no doubt his side should have had a spot-kick.
Pellegrini said: “The whole stadium could see it was a penalty. It was so clear, so near for the referee and both legs of Raheem were taken.
It was clear foul from Stones but if the referee doesn't whistle for it, we can't say anything about that.''
East's decision cost City the chance to claim a late victory and close the gap to the top of the table.
The hosts created numerous chances but couldn’t find a way past the in-form goalkeeper Tim Howard, while Sergio Aguero also had two penalty claims turned down.
Howard, 36, who saved a powerful header from Yaya Toure in the first half, kept out two good efforts from Aguero as well as denying Sterling and Kevin De Bruyne.
Everton's best opportunities came in the first half with Leon Osman volleying narrowly wide and Gerard Deulofeu testing Joe Hart.
Pellegrini said: “In the second half it was complete dominance by us - of possession, of shots, of saves from their goalkeeper. I think we did enough to merit winning the game.''
Everton boss Roberto Martinez believes that referee Roger East made the right call to not award a penalty.
Martinez, 42, said: “The way I saw it, I see John Stones going to ground trying to block the trajectory of the ball. All of a sudden Raheem Sterling is quite happy not to play the ball and he wants to invite some sort of contact.
If you are not certain, you don't want to gamble in a decision that could have been so damaging from our point of view. I felt Roger made the right call there.''
This is the second of third meetings City have with Everton this month, with Everton winning 2-1 in the first leg of their Capital One Cup semi-final last week, and Martinez was again pleased with the performance.
He added: “I thought in the first half we were very good. I thought we controlled the game for long spells, probably more than Manchester City.
The second half was a little different. We found it difficult to impose ourselves but we had to show resilience and concentration and defend well.''
The game had gone ahead as scheduled at 7.45pm despite severe traffic problems on the motorway network. There were many empty seats at kick-off and fans continued to trickle in throughout the first half.
Martinez continued: “I think it was chaotic around Manchester today. We got here later than normal but with enough time to prepare.
“Delaying kick-off - I am always in favour of to allow fans to watch from the beginning, but it is not in our hands to make those decisions.''