Wenger says Fernandinho should have been sent off with Di Maria

Arsene Wenger accuses Fernandinho of ‘provocative behaviour’ and claims he should have been sent off too for his part in Angel Di Maria’s red card during Manchester City’s Champions League win over PSG

  • PSG’s discipline let them down again in the 2-0 defeat by Manchester City
  • Angel Di Maria was sent off for kicking out at City midfielder Fernandinho
  • But Arsene Wenger didn’t think Fernandinho was quite as innocent as it seems 

Arsene Wenger claimed that Manchester City midfielder Fernandinho should have been sent off for his ‘provocative behaviour’ in the incident where Angel Di Maria saw red on Tuesday night.

Paris Saint-Germain winger Di Maria was dismissed in the second half of his side’s 2-0 semi-final defeat by City when he kicked out at Fernandinho while chasing the ball off the pitch.

But former Arsenal manager Wenger made a point of drawing attention to Fernandinho’s conduct on the night, which he disapproved of.

Angel Di Maria was sent off for kicking out at Manchester City midfielder Fernandinho

But Arsene Wenger felt Fernandinho wasn’t quite as innocent as it may have appeared

Speaking on beIN SPORTS, Wenger said: ‘I have to say I don’t like how Fernandinho behaved tonight. It’s provocative. 

‘If you send Di Maria off, you have to send Fernandinho off as well, for me. 

‘He should already have had a yellow card and then he was provoking Di Maria. They both should have been off.’ 

But looking at the bigger picture, Wenger said that PSG need to improve their defence and their discipline after finishing both matches against City with 10 men.

Former Everton midfielder Idrissa Gueye was sent off in the first leg for an awful late challenge on Ilkay Gundogan. 

‘Overall, I would say that for them now it’s important to analyse where they can improve, and it’s at the back,’ he explained. 

Wenger said that Fernandinho’s ‘provocative behaviour’ meant he should have also seen red

Wenger said that PSG must improve their discipline if they are to win the Champions League

‘The defence, at the moment, is not good enough to win the Champions League.  They have huge potential but that’s where they need to correct it. 

‘They also need to become more calm and concentrated. We cannot ignore that they finished both games with 10 men. So it’s repeated as well. They need to improve their discipline when things don’t go well.’

Riyad Mahrez scored a goal in each half for City as they defeated Mauricio Pochettino’s men 4-1 on aggregate to book their first ever appearance in a Champions League final. 




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