The Serbian defender was dismissed after catching Sam Ricketts, but he has explained that he did not want to enflame the situation by arguing with referee Andre Marriner.
Aleks told mcfc.co.uk: “I was not happy about the sending off. With the second yellow card I took the ball first and I could not stop myself as I went down, but the referee made the decision and I have to respect it.
“I wanted the ball and I took it first, then maybe I took a little bit of the player, but I did take the ball first. I just have to accept the decision, but it was hard to take. If I had made a bad foul I would have accepted not playing for a few games, but this red card was hard.
“That’s football, the referee makes the decisions and you have to accept them. At first I wanted to say something back to him, but I thought about it and that would have made it a worse situation.
“We were trying to close the game out and we had had many opportunities to score, even me. It was an important win, and now it’s important that we beat West Ham now and then see what Chelsea, Arsenal and United do. “
Having cemented his place at left back after being sidelined with an injury early in the season, the 25-year-old is naturally frustrated at being forced out of this Saturday’s game at West Ham. However he is targeting the following Thursday’s Europa League date in Turin for his return to the side, in the surroundings of the Stadio Olimpico which he visited when with previous club Lazio.
“Now I can’t play at West Ham but we have the game against Juventus next week and I really want to play in that one. Each match is important for us and anyone would want to play against them in Turin. I’m sure they will see playing City as a big one for them as well.
“It’s a nice stadium to play in, and they are one of the biggest names in Europe. Naturally they will be trying to beat us, but we want to take first place in the group so we have to try for the win.”
