Pep Guardiola gives irritated response when asked about celebrations in front of Liverpool duo
Pep Guardiola cut an irritated figure when he was asked about his celebrations in front of two Liverpool players during Manchester City’s 4-1 win over the Reds today.
Immediately after Julian Alvarez equalised for the home side in the 27th minute at the Etihad Stadium, the 52-year-old appeared to rub it in the face of Kostas Tsimikas as the Greek defender walked near the technical area.
The Spaniard then made a point of offering Arthur Melo a handshake with a tinge of sarcasm about it, briefly speaking to the on-loan midfielder.
Guardiola’s actions were admonished by Rio Ferdinand on BT Sport punditry duty (as per @btsportfootball on Twitter), and the Man City boss was asked about the incident in the post-match press conference.
As per Liverpool Echo, he curtly replied: “I was happy and I said, ‘How nice was our goal?’. That’s all. Of course (it was an attempt at humour). Come on.
“No, come on. I am so sorry. I speak with Tsimikas. You people say it is a lack of respect. Ask him if I lack respect.
“I celebrate a goal. Normally I celebrate with my son on the floor. I come here and said, ‘The goal was nice, wasn’t it?’. That’s all. I’m so sorry. You think it was a lack of respect? Ah okay, sorry. I’m so sorry.”
Theo Squires, who was covering the match for the Liverpool Echo, noted how Guardiola ‘rolled his eyes and snapped back sarcastically as he took issue with the accusations of disrespect’ when questioned about the incident with Tsimikas and Arthur.
The Spaniard’s accomplishments as a manager with Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Man City mark him out as one of the elite coaches in world football, but his actions on the touchline today – and subsequent narkiness in the press conference – didn’t paint him in a positive light.
When looking at how he interacted with the Liverpool duo, and with no microphones to capture what was said, it was only natural that he’d be asked about it afterwards. Indeed, it may have been telling just how defensive he was about the incident when prompted to discuss it by journalists after the game.
For all that Guardiola has done in his career as a player and manager, it doesn’t give him the right to be so condescending towards journalists who are doing their job by asking a relevant question.
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