Football
Jonathan Smith, Manchester City correspondent 8y

Vincent Kompany refuses to blame referee for shock Tottenham loss

Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany has refused to blame referee Mark Clattenburg after the 2-1 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.

City boss Manuel Pellegrini criticised the official after he awarded a 53rd minute penalty after he adjudged that Raheem Sterling had handled Danny Rose's cross.

But Kompany, who was making his first start for more than three months, said City must not feel sorry for themselves.

He told reporters: "I don't like to comment on referees. If I'm honest I didn't really have a position from which I could judge it.

"I hear what people are saying and we have seen the images but we need to move on from this and the only way we will be successful this season is to learn from these moments and take strength out of it.

"I am always grateful to see referees do the job they do for us, and they take a lot of stick. The decisions will go against us, and will go for us. There are enough big games coming up for us to hope a decision will go our way.

"It's not an easy job. We need to get on with our own work as a team and as a club. For now it hurts but in the long term we have to look at ourselves.

"We didn't play a bad game -- it wasn't a matter of under-performing. Of course if we played a little bit better we could have won the game but the game-plan was fine until they got a penalty.

"After that we had to take more risk. We were dangerous as well and scored the goal but their second goal happened as it happened -- they had two or three chances and that's it.

"Maybe on another day we would score one or two more and not concede and win the game. But it wasn't a bad performance, just a very disappointing result."

The defeat keeps City in fourth position on the Premier League table -- six points behind leaders Leicester City while they now trail Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal by four points.

But Kompany, who has recovered from a persistent calf injury, is refusing to give up on the title chase.

"No way are we giving up or letting ourselves be beaten down by this defeat," he said. "It will be a tough league for us but it will be a tough league for everyone else as well.

"Playing Tottenham is difficult but playing anyone else in the league is also difficult.

"We need all our experience and character now. Today was not one of those days where you say we didn't look a good team. It's just that they did well to win here.

"We don't have to look at the next game and say we have to change everything drastically. We are on a good way and will get there."

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