‘They didn’t get me,’ Furious Pep Guardiola reveals coins were thrown at him as Klopp admits his mistake in Manchester City’s loss to Liverpool
Coins were thrown at Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola during his team’s Premier League match against Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday.
In a tense match in which Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp was shown a red card, the hosts defeated the champions 1-0 thanks to Mohamed Salah’s breakaway goal in the second half.
Earlier, the City bench had erupted in delight after Phil Foden thought he had put the champions ahead in the 53rd minute, only for his strike to be ruled out by VAR.
Guardiola was enraged by the decision even before referee Anthony Taylor had finished looking at the pitch-side monitor, turning around to confront Liverpool fans in the stands.
Following that, the City manager claimed that Liverpool fans retaliated.
“Next time they will do it better, they didn’t get me,” Guardiola said.
“They tried but didn’t get me. They got them (coins) on the coach years ago but not this time.”
Guardiola was still unhappy with the decision to penalize Erling Haaland for a foul on Fabinho in the build-up to Foden’s finish from a tight angle after the game.
“This is Anfield,” Guardiola said. “The referee spoke with my assistant and Jurgen before the game and said ‘Today I won’t make fouls’ and all the game was play on, play on, play on, except the goal we scored.
“The crowd and everything, many years we come here. We lost because we made a mistake and play one of the best teams in the world. It is so tight and the margins are so fine.”
Guardiola was still unhappy with the decision to penalize Erling Haaland for a foul on Fabinho in the build-up to Foden’s finish from a tight angle after the game.
“We are aware of an incident involving objects being thrown into the technical area at today’s game,” said a club spokesman. “This is totally unacceptable behaviour and not the standards of behaviour we expect at Anfield.
“This incident will be fully investigated using CCTV and those found guilty will be punished, including a lifetime ban from Anfield Stadium and a possible football banning order.”
In response, Liverpool has promised to ban fans who throw coins at Guardiola for life.
Klopp was sent to the stands after becoming dissatisfied with the officials late in the second half, believing Salah was fouled in front of him by Bernardo Silva.
Despite this, he was overjoyed to get a result that will help his team’s stuttering season by ending City’s unbeaten run.
“The red card is my fault, I went over the top in that moment,” Klopp said. “That’s not ok, but as little excuse I would like to mention how can you not whistle that as a foul?
“That (the result) felt good, very good. On a normal day you should not even try against City, you have to play to your limits. That’s what we did. It was a top performance from the boys.”
Liverpool later issued a statement condemning some of City fans’ chants during the game.
“We are deeply disappointed to hear vile chants relating to football stadium tragedies from the away section during today’s game at Anfield. The concourse in the away section was also vandalised with graffiti of a similar nature,” the club said.
“We know the impact such behaviour has on the families, survivors and all those associated with such disasters.
“We are working with the relevant authorities and we will also work with Manchester City in order to do our utmost to ensure these chants are eradicated from football altogether.”
‘They didn’t get me,’ Furious Pep Guardiola reveals coins were thrown at him as Klopp admits his mistake in Manchester City’s loss to Liverpool
