Manchester City’s attempts to get back into the Premier League title race took a huge blow when they were ousted by Liverpool at Anfield to go 9 points behind the league-leaders.
To make things worse, the crucial decisions seem to go against them. Before Fabinho’s early opener, Trent Alexander-Arnold had allegedly handled the ball inside the area but it was waved on. Later on, it struck his arm again in the second half but that was ruled unintentional as well.
Pep Guardiola was left in fumes after watching this all transpiring, cutting a dramatic figure on the touchlines and taking time to sarcastically applaud the officials after the game.
He went straight to Michael Oliver after the defeat and hilariously told him “Thank You So Much” twice which showcased how flabbergasted the Spaniard was with his decisions.
However, the two-time Premier League-winning boss categorically denied trying to be sarcastic and tried to slyly play down the entire ordeal after the game.
He said, “It was not sarcastic. Thank you so much’ all the time. I said the same at Tottenham game at home. All the time I go to referees I say thank you so much.”
When further asked about his thoughts on the refereeing decisions which plagued his side’s performance, he said, “You’ll have to ask (referees chief) Mike Riley and the big bosses about that. I’m not here to talk about the decisions over the referees or VAR. Don’t ask me, ask them.”
Despite the loss, Guardiola reaffirmed his pride at his player’s efforts and hailed it as one of the more prouder moments in his managerial career.
The Spaniard explained, “Today we showed in the most difficult stadium in the world the reasons we are champions, (it was) one of the proudest performances of my career.”
But he did applaud Liverpool for getting the better of his side, hailing both Klopp and his team while also reiterated how good advertisement the thrilling contest served as a testament to the competitive nature of the Premier League.
He quipped, “Unfortunately we lost, but congratulations to Jurgen (Klopp) and this fantastic team for the victory. It was a good game for both sides, for the Premier League, for the billions of people who watched this game it was good advertising.”
Furthermore, he also hailed his side’s relentless attacking style showcased after going down in the game and exclaimed, “We tried, but we can’t expect not to concede chances at Anfield. We created more than ever and I’m so proud to be manager of these players.”
The loss at Anfield was City’s third loss already this season and they are currently one point behind Leicester City and Chelsea in the table as well.
The defending champions will host Chelsea after the international break and will be desperate for a win, as all they can do now is keep winning and hope Liverpool drop points to get back into the title race.
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