The England midfielder impressed throughout the game, but was unfortunate in an incident in which he thought he had equalised to make the score 1-1.
Bellingham nicked the ball off goalkeeper Ederson, who had miscued a clearance, before rolling the ball into the back of the net. But rather than let the game play on, the referee immediately blew his whistle for a foul, leaving no room for VAR to overturn the decision.
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To make matters worse for the former Birmingham player, he was also yellow carded, though replays appeared to show he won the ball fairly, with only the faintest of contact on the Brazilian.
“I definitely think I won the ball fairly,” Bellingham told BT Sport.
It’s a bit frustrating at a time when there are so many TVs and cameras but it’s football; you’ve got to get on with it. Apparently I had my studs up and caught the goalkeeper.
Interim boss Edin Terzic also believed Bellingham’s goal should have stood and rued the approach the referee took.
“For me it is not a foul but he blew the whistle straight away. If he would let the ball in, he can go to the screen, have a check and make a decision,” said Terzic.
“This is something that annoyed us but this is a game of mistakes. Sometimes it is not the players making the mistakes. We have to accept it and do it better.”
Bellingham did play a part in Marco Reus’ late equaliser, after Kevin De Bruyne had opened the scoring for City, but Pep Guardiola’s Premier League leaders took control of the tie through Phil Foden’s 90th minute winner.
The second leg will be played in Germany next Wednesday.
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