Manchester City's manager Voices Remorse Over Camera Operator Incident Following Loss to Newcastle
Pep Guardiola has admitted feeling "shame" after an exchange with a camera operator in the wake of Manchester City's 2-1 defeat away to the Magpies this past weekend.
At full time, an emotional Guardiola entered the St James’ Park pitch and had heated discussions with the referee, Sam Barrott and Magpies midfielder Bruno Guimarães, while also handling the broadcast crew's equipment.
"I apologised," the manager remarked. "I feel embarrassed, ashamed, looking back. I don’t like it. I apologised after one second to the operator. That's just me. With a thousand matches under my belt I'm far from perfect, errors happen."
"One thing is certain, I defend any team and my club, without a doubt. The reason why I support my squad is no doubt – based on my career to clinch the title we need near-perfect totals, high nineties, otherwise we don’t win it."
City's Position and Guardiola's Assessment
The team sits in third and trail leaders Arsenal by seven points after what was their fourth league defeat of the season. "Losing four games out of 12 we have to improve a lot," he conceded. "Technically, we can still achieve all."
When questioned if this meant the quadruple could be achieved, he responded: "You are an experienced journalist, did you hear my talk discuss four trophies last winter during our historic run? No."
Interaction with Guimarães
On the subject of his talk with Guimarães, Guardiola said: "I've known him a long time and every time after the game, home or away, we converse. We often meet and we get along well. I enjoy it. I'm passionate, I like discussing and gesticulate."
He wouldn't mind if an opposition manager spoke to his players immediately after a game. "No - as long as it's respectful like I always have done, it's fine," he noted, before referencing Barrott. "The referee was involved throughout the match, he was involved. Goodness, he was involved."
Debatable Calls
The team felt aggrieved that Barrott or the VAR denied a spot-kick on a Schär tackle on Phil Foden, while they also questioned if Guimarães was offside when Harvey Barnes scored the decisive strike. Subsequent images indicate the Brazilian was onside.
Upcoming Milestone
He will manage of his 100th Champions League game against Bayer Leverkusen this week. "It’s quite good, it means that every season we have been there," he commented.
City have 10 points from four matches in the group, while Leverkusen have five.
