Man City managed to secure a 2-0 victory while playing with only 10 players in the second half, maintaining their flawless record in the Premier League.
However, Guardiola believed that the referee, Taylor, had lost control of the game even before Rodri received a red card.
The incident leading to Rodri’s dismissal for violent conduct occurred at the beginning of the second half when he grabbed Morgan Gibbs-White by the throat. This action will result in a three-match suspension, causing him to miss the crucial match against title rivals Arsenal on October 8th.
In addition to Rodri’s dismissal, Taylor handed out yellow cards to 10 other players, with seven of them coming from Forest. Notably, Guardiola himself received a yellow card during the match.
“The game was incredibly perfect for 35 minutes for both sides but after that, when it became chaos, it was not our responsibility, that is for sure,” Guardiola said.
“With all the yellow cards, the responsibility is not Nottingham Forest or City’s, that’s for sure. The referee has changed the game, absolutely.”
Guardiola mentioned that Rodri had extended his apologies to his fellow teammates for his red card. This suspension will also force him to sit out upcoming league matches, including those against Wolves on September 30th and Brighton at home on October 21st.
Guardiola drew parallels between this incident and Kyle Walker’s red card during a Champions League match against RB Leipzig in the 2021–22 season.
“Hopefully Rodri will learn,” Guardiola added. “He had to control himself and his emotions. I can get a yellow card, but Rodri can’t. I don’t play—the guys who do have to be careful.
“Kyle has done this in the past – they know they shouldn’t do it – but it is emotions. Whatever happens, you have to control yourself. I am angry, because I don’t like playing with 10 men.
“I said to the players at half-time to be careful because of what had happened in the last 10 minutes [of the first half] but we fell into the trap.”