Guardiola defends Aguero amid outcry over touching lineswoman

Pep Guardiola rose to Sergio Aguero’s defense after the Manchester City striker caused upset by touching a lineswoman.

Aguero made his first appearance of the season on Saturday to help Manchester City seal a 1-0 win over Arsenal.

The club’s record goalscorer didn’t make much of an impact in his first game back since June. But he still made headlines anyway, albeit for the wrong reasons in touching a lineswoman at the Etihad Stadium.

The incident occurred just before the break when lineswoman, Sian Massey-Ellis, signaled a throw-in for Arsenal. Aguero, however, didn’t agree and approached her. He grabbed her shoulder before his arm brushed across her back, which led Massey-Ellis to swat it away.

Think Aguero should be spoken to about this, it’s demeaning & not acceptable.pic.twitter.com/EDFYHWhsSm

— Hari Sethi (@Hari_Sethi) October 17, 2020

It caused a strong reaction afterwards, with Guardiola later attempting to shift the focus off his striker in his post-match interviews.

“Come on guys,” said an exasperated Pep. “Sergio is the nicest person I ever met in my life. Look for problems in other situations, not in this one.”

Raheem Sterling was on target to seal the Citizens’ second victory of the Premier League season to move them back into the top-10.

“It was a tight game as we expected. It was for our heads, so important this victory, for the problems that we have,” the City manager told Sky Sports.

“In the game against Leeds, Ederson made outstanding saves and again today.

“What we have done today, without the ball, defending together. I think Nathan [Ake] and Ruben [Dias] were incredible, and Kyle [Walker] as a central defender.

“We could not train one session on the build-up [with this back three]. We need more time to grow as a team, but it’s okay.

“I think this game is going to help us to make a step forward.”