Pep Guardiola challenged referees’ chief Mike Riley to explain what the Manchester City manager believes are a series of decisions that have gone against his side after Andre Marriner denied Raheem Sterling a penalty in the thrilling 2-2 draw with Tottenham Hotspur.

Spurs came from two behind to equalise with goals from Dele Alli and then substitute Heung-min Son but Guardiola was frustrated that his side did not get a penalty with the score at 2-1. Kyle Walker later admitted that he had pushed Sterling in the back as the winger went through on goal.

“I wasn’t going to get the ball otherwise,” Walker said. “You have to put him off as much as possible.”

Guardiola said: “It is the same argument as against Chelsea [when Ilkay Gundogan was denied a penalty] – we lost as well but we missed a lot of chances. When that happens the influence of the referee is higher. When you score a lot of goals the referee doesn’t matter. The rules here are the rules. So maybe one day Mike Riley [general manager of Professional Game Match Officials] will explain to me. When he [Sterling] is pushed, I don’t understand.”