Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola let rip at television pundits Jamie Carragher, Micah Richards and Gary Neville, but was met with a brutal response.
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Manchester City accused of complacencyGuardiola hits back in rantCarragher issues swift responseWHAT HAPPENED?
Sky Sports’ pundits Carragher, Neville and Richards had accused Guardiola's side of complacency after seeing the defending champions drop six points from nine in the Premier League, with a 3-3 draw at home to Tottenham marking their latest setback. The Manchester City boss was quick to defend his team from the criticism, pointing out Carragher's failure to win a single league title during his time with Liverpool. Guardiola also said his "feeling today is we’re going to win the Premier League" and be crowned champions for a fourth year in a row.
AdvertisementGettyWHAT PEP GUARDIOLA SAID
Guardiola said: "He knows how difficult it is. Otherwise, Gary Neville would’ve won four [consecutive] Premier Leagues in the best period of Manchester United. But he didn’t do it, you know?
“Jamie Carragher didn’t win one once. Micah Richards didn’t win four Premier Leagues in a row. Never, ever. It’s never happened. There is more chance of if it not happening than happening. Just one Treble before us. It’s so difficult to do it again and again. We don’t have what others have, who haven’t done it for many, many years.
“I see my team, how they fight, how they press, how they continue until the end and how upset they are after we concede. So I don’t have that feeling [of complacency]. Maybe, maybe I’m wrong and they are seeing everything that I’m not able to see. But I don’t have that feeling.
"This team so far, no chance. How we behave against Young Boys, Red Star, you have to be humble enough. I’m in love with my team. Maybe years and still I am.
“I saw how we pressed Tottenham, the game against Liverpool, even against Chelsea. How we’ve done doesn’t give me the feeling that we say, ‘look how good we are’ or we play a little bit naive or play like we don’t respect the opponents. Not at all. I don’t have that feeling.”
THE BIGGER PICTURE
Carragher was quick to respond to Guardiola's comments, posting a brutal message on social media highlighting how Manchester City stand accused of 115 alleged breaches of Financial Fair Play rules. "I think I’d have probably won one if Liverpool were owned by a nation state, and pushed the rules so far that the PL charged us 115 times!! I was actually praising Pep’s team after the game on Sunday," he wrote on X.
GettyWHAT NEXT FOR MAN CITY?
Guardiola may be confident of winning the league, but his team are now playing catch-up after three straight draws in the Premier League. The Cityzens take on an in-form Aston Villa side next and head into the game six points behind leaders Arsenal, albeit with a game in hand. A win for Unai Emery's side on Wednesday night would also see Villa leapfrog City in the table.