Jude Bellingham simply said he was “gutted” by the decision to disallow his first-half goal against Manchester City.
His Borussia Dortmund side were beaten late on at the Etihad in the first-leg of the Champions League quarter-final.
Things could’ve been very different though had Bellingham’s goal stood when the game was still goalless.
The young midfielder nicked in to dispossess City goalkeeper Ederson as he prepared to clear the ball.
He went down and the referee was quick to blow up, but replays showed Bellingham clearly won the ball.
The 17-year-old took to Twitter after the contest to make his feelings known, but his side are still very much in the tie.
(Image: Getty Images)
“I definitely think I won the ball fairly,” Bellingham told BT Sport.
“It’s a bit frustrating at a time when they’ve got so many cameras and so many TVs watching the game that they don’t wait for me to put it in the net and then check it.
“It’s football and it’s life, we have to get on with it, really.
“All I got told was that I got booked and it’s going to be a free-kick for them. I think they should have checked it but apparently I had my studs up, caught the goalie and it was a foul.”
Bellingham, who put in an impressive display, and his team-mates only need to secure a 1-0 win in Germany next week to progress.
Phil Foden’s stoppage time winner put City back ahead after Marco Reus had grabbed a vital away goal.
Pep Guardiola concedes his side allowed the expectation levels to affect them during their performance.
He said: “When you win 26 games in 27 and they are not winning the Bundesliga, the pressure is on our shoulders.”
“Everything is guaranteed for us. Everybody believed we would win. We had an incredible commitment and desire to go through.”
