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Sissoko Went To The Dressing Room As Soon As He Saw Raheem Sterling's 'Winning Goal'

Sissoko Went To The Dressing Room As Soon As He Saw Raheem Sterling's 'Winning Goal'

As far as Sissoko was concerned, Spurs had been eliminated...

Josh Lawless

Josh Lawless

When Raheem Sterling put the ball in the back of the net and sent the Etihad Stadium into raptures late on last night, Pep Guardiola and Manchester City fans and players thought they had snatched it. So did Spurs midfielder Moussa Sissoko.

The Frenchman was forced off in the first half with a groin injury and replaced by Fernando Llorente, who scored the decisive goal that booked Spurs' place in the Champions League semi-finals for the first time in the history.

Sissoko watched Sergio Aguero set up Raheem Sterling's 93rd minute 'winner' from the bench but because he headed straight down the dressing room in disappointment, he had no clue whatsoever that the goal was chalked off courtesy of a VAR review.

Completely oblivious until a member of the Spurs coaching staff informed him, he then rushed out onto the pitch to partake in the celebrations with his colleagues and supporters.

"I was on the bench when I saw the goal that made it 5-3," Sissoko told French newspaper L'Equipe, via the Daily Mail.

"I was so upset that I returned directly to the dressing room.

"I was alone, no one had accompanied me, no TV screen was broadcasting the game. In my head we were eliminated. Then one of the staff members entered the dressing room and told me: 'Incredible, we did it!'.

"I said: 'How did we do it?' At that moment, he told me that the goal had been disallowed.

"So I put on a t-shirt, I forgot about my injury and I ran outside to join the others, not to miss the celebrations for such a historic moment. It was an incredible, emotional shock."

City boss Guardiola had no problem with the correct VAR decision which overturned what City thought was their stoppage time winner but did note that one key angle not used by the referee showed the ball striking Fernando Llorente's arm for his goal.

"I support VAR but maybe from one angle Fernando Llorente's goal is handball, maybe from the referee's angle it is not," Guardiola said, as per The Guardian.

"I am for fair football, for fair decisions. The referees must be helped sometimes. When it is offside, it is offside. What can I say?"

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Topics: Manchester City, Spurs, Football News, Etihad Stadium, Tottenham Hotspur, Football, Moussa Sissoko, Champions League