Pep Guardiola says coins were thrown at him during Manchester City’s 1-0 defeat at Liverpool in the Premier League 2022-23 on Sunday. The City manager remonstrated angrily with a section of the Anfield crowd after Phil Foden saw a goal ruled out when VAR invited referee Anthony Taylor to review the pitchside monitor. (More Football News)
Guardiola repeatedly gesticulated at fans in the immediate aftermath and later said coins were thrown in his direction. “Next time they will do it better,” he said in the post-match news conference. “They didn’t get me. They try it again next year.
“All these coins, they tried, but didn’t get it. They got the coach years ago.” Guardiola was referring to an incident when Liverpool fans attacked City’s team bus ahead of a Champions League match in 2018.
Asked if he had enticed a reaction from the home supporters, Guardiola said: “They shout, we shout more.” And he was clearly still angered by Foden’s goal being disallowed after Taylor spotted a foul on Fabinho in the build-up. “This is Anfield,” he said.
Mo Salah’s 76th-minute goal proved the decisive moment on a dramatic day when Jurgen Klopp was shown a red card for angrily charging out of his technical area. Defeat for City leaves Guardiola’s team four points behind leader Arsenal, which won 1-0 at Leeds earlier Sunday.
Liverpool was fined just under $20,000 for incidents around the Champions League match four years ago, which included such severe damage to City’s team bus that a replacement was required to get the players back to Manchester.
The rivalry on the field has grown increasingly fierce due to the quality of both teams in recent seasons. And that was in evidence in this latest installment, even on the back of Liverpool enduring such a difficult start to the campaign that City went into the match 13 points ahead of last season’s runner-up.
Jurgen Klopp was sent off after furiously racing out of his technical area to complain about a late decision, for which the Liverpool manager later apologized. “It is about emotion of course so (it was a) red card,” Klopp said. “My fault. I went over the top in the moment. I know myself, I am 55 and I deserve a red card.”
Klopp also apologized to Guardiola for the alleged coin throwing. “Horrible,” he said. “I am sorry. It never should happen.” While that incident threatened to overshadow the result, this was an occasion when Liverpool showed it potentially remains a major threat to City.
