Pep Guardiola has spoken out after his animated exchange with Manchester City players, particularly Stefan Ortega and Josko Gvardiol, following their dramatic 2-2 draw with Brentford.
Despite appearances, Guardiola insists that his comments were positive and focused on praising the players.
City seemed poised to secure a crucial victory, with two second-half goals from Phil Foden putting them ahead. However, a late collapse allowed Brentford to equalize in injury time, with goals from Yoane Wissa and Christian Norgaard.
Following the match, Guardiola was seen gesturing intensely towards Ortega, Gvardiol, and Savinho, which led to speculation that he was upset with them.
However, Guardiola was quick to deny these claims, insisting he had been complimenting Ortega and Gvardiol on their contributions.
In his comments, Guardiola praised Gvardiol for his strong performance, saying: “How good he played, he played an incredible game.”
Regarding Ortega, the City manager said, “How good he played in the actions with the ball, had good passes to Erling, how happy and satisfied I am, especially with these two players with what they have done.”
Guardiola also responded to Phil Foden’s suggestion that City appeared fatigued during the final stages, playfully remarking, “Yeah, that’s why I replaced him.”
The result leaves Manchester City in sixth place in the Premier League, two points behind fourth-placed Chelsea.