Pep Guardiola causes controversy with explanation on cuts to his face after Man City draw
Manchester City inexplicably collapsed against Dutch side Feyenoord in the Champions League on Tuesday evening and Pep Guardiola has clarified injuries he picked up during the game
by Daniel Orme · The MirrorManchester City boss Pep Guardiola claimed he wanted to "harm himself" after visible scratches were spotted on his face.
The Spaniard’s troubles grew on Tuesday evening as City’s winless run continued against Feyenoord. After five previous defeats, the Premier League champions looked set to secure victory as they raced into a 3-0 lead against the Dutch side.
But they inexplicably collapsed within the final 15 minutes to draw. And speaking after the game, Guardiola appeared to have cut his nose, while he also had other marks all over his head.
Asked by journalists the reason for the injuries, he suggested that it was a self-inflicted accident, but joked that he wanted to hurt himself. Guardiola said: “My finger, here [points to nose]. My nail. I want to harm myself.”
A member of the assembled media attempted to console the Spaniard. Speaking as Guardiola left the press conference, they said: “It will be okay.”
Things are not set to get any easier for City this weekend as they take on table-topping Liverpool at Anfield. And Guardiola has underlined his desire to get his side back on track ahead of the trip to Merseyside.
He added: “Three episodes didn’t allow us to win, what we needed. For many, many reasons, not just for the terms of qualification and get the points to go through. Other reasons.
“It’s what it is. So difficult to swallow right now. The game was good. We scored three, we could have scored more, we do everything but at the end, we give away especially the first one and after we are not stable enough to do it.
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“It’s not about not running, no commitment, nothing like that but in football, you have to do it in certain moments. The second goal, the second post, touch the post. Improve, what can you do? So rest one or two days and prepare for Anfield.”
Asked how he’s going to pick his players up, Guardiola replied: “We have to, I have to, it’s my job. We play a good game but of course we need to do it and we were not able to control the last minutes.”
Should they lose to Arne Slot’s side this weekend, City could already find themselves 11 points off the pace in the race for the Premier League title. Following the trip to Liverpool, City then host Nottingham Forest ahead of a trip to Crystal Palace.
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