Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has denied he disrespected Liverpool after celebrating wildly in front of substitutes Kostas Tsimikas and Arthur Melo during the 4-1 victory at the Etihad.
The home side were trailing to Mohamed Salah’s 17th-minute opener when a quick, sweeping move from right to left set up Julian Alvarez to equalise from close range.
It prompted Guardiola to erupt with multiple double fist pumps in his technical area at exactly the moment Tsimikas was walking past, and the City boss back-pedalled to keep ahead of the left-back to continue his celebrations.
He then extended that to on-loan Juventus midfielder Arthur, shaking his hand and engaging the Brazilian in conversation.
Former England defender Rio Ferdinand said of the incident on BT Sport: “I don’t know how Tsimikas hasn’t pushed the opposing manager Pep Guardiola out of the way”.
Yet the City boss insists he meant no offence.
“I was happy and I said how nice our goal was. That’s all,” he said.
When asked if it was an attempt at humour he replied: “Of course. Come on.”
But when it was suggested to Guardiola his actions could be construed as provocative, he added, somewhat sarcastically: “Nah, come on. I’m so sorry.
“Speak with Tsimikas, speak with the others. Ask him if I lack respect. I celebrate the goal with my son on that floor (the tier above).
“And I said, ‘The goal was nice, isn’t it?’. That’s all. I’m so sorry. Do you think it’s a lack of respect? Ah, okay, sorry. I’m so sorry.”
City went on to comfortably win the game after Kevin De Bruyne’s goal 53 seconds after half-time provided the platform for further strikes by Ilkay Gundogan and Jack Grealish, who put in a man-of-the-match performance.
Guardiola said Grealish was “amazing” but still wants him to produce more after scoring only his fourth goal of the season and his first at home since December 2021.
“All season I’ve been really, really pleased with Jack. He believes completely. The way he behaves when he wasn’t playing at the beginning was exceptional.
“Today he was amazing, I liked the standing ovation (when he was substituted in the 89th minute), he deserved it. All season he was playing well.
“You can judge the block on (Mohamed) Salah (when Grealish was the last defender in a two-on-one), it could have been 2-0. Football is more than the stats.”
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