Nemenja Matic's sending off was wrong and a major turning point in Manchester United's semi-final Carabao Cup exit, according to Micah Richards and Darren Fletcher.
'I don’t think Matic should have been sent off,' Fletcher said. 'The first one is very harsh because he doesn’t make any contact.
'And the second one is clever from Gundogan, I don’t think there’s enough contact there and the referee’s bought it.'
Former City defender Richards felt it was a crucial moment which resulted in one of United's better performers being sent off, and suggested Friend didn't take into context the nature of the fixture.
He said: 'That moment was pivotal to the game. I thought Matic was brilliant today and I don’t think either of those should have been a yellow card. If you’re going to give fouls for that, every player is going to get booked every single week.
'It’s a derby, sometimes in these games you want to see challenges let go. It spoiled the game.'