Guardiola’s side lost ground in the title race at Selhurst Park
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola was involved in a heated discussion with Crystal Palace goalkeeper Vicente Guaita after full-time at Selhurst Park Monday night.
City, who had appeared to be making light work of their title defence only a couple of months ago, were frustrated by a stubborn Palace side in London and held to a goalless draw. Though the result is far from terminal to their hopes of retaining their crown, it means Liverpool – who face to City at the Etihad in April – will now be champions if they win all their remaining fixtures.
City dominated possession against the Eagles but couldn’t find a breakthrough. Guaita played his part in this, keeping a cool head throughout the second half as the pressure from the away side steadily mounted.
Guardiola went over to him after full-time, with the pair exchanging words. What exactly was said is unclear, but the body language alone suggests the pair were in disagreement over something.
Pep Guardiola and Vicente Guaita having a heated conversation at full-time 👀 pic.twitter.com/bwjaTtVt4G
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) March 14, 2022
Despite appearing disappointed, Guardiola insisted after the game that he had merely been congratulating his countryman on a good performance.
The former Barcelona boss made no substitutions in the game, but explained his side’s level of performance throughout meant he was content to keep things as they were.
“We played a really good game. In 90 minutes we concede mistakes a little bit, but the way we played was really good,” he told BBC Sport.
“Luck doesn’t exist in football. We have to score goals and we didn’t do it. We played to score goals and concede few. We struggled a little bit.
“The guys who were playing were playing good, that’s why I didn’t make changes. We didn’t score, that was the mistake.
“The team that was there today was there before and will be there in the next game. I am very pleased with the performance and the way we played.”
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