Pep Guardiola has responded to Anfield atmosphere claims, citing an amazing stat about Manchester City’s form at the Etihad to hammer home his point
Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp embrace before what could be their final league meeting ever(Image credit: Getty Images)
Manchester City head coach Pep Guardiola has fired back at claims that his side have only won once at Anfield since he’s been in charge.
Following Sunday’s Premier League encounter between his side and Liverpool, the Spaniard called into question the fact that the champions' last success at the Reds' home came in February 2021, and that is their only victory there in seven league visits since the Catalan joined the Citizens in the summer of 2016.
He said: "I know how difficult Anfield is. But the Etihad is difficult, too. Liverpool never won there. People talk about here 'Anfield, Anfield!' we won here. Never in eight years did they win there [Etihad]."
Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola share an intense rivalry (Image credit: Getty Images)
The two title-challengers settled for a 1-1 draw at Anfield but there was controversy at the end of the game when VAR was checked after Jeremy Doku caught Alexis Mac Allister in the chest with his boot – but no penalty was awarded.
The Reds were already awarded a penalty just after the break, with Mac Allister managing to find the net to cancel out John Stones’ 23rd-minute opener.
After the game, Liverpool head coach Jurgen Klopp told Sky Sports that he was not happy with the decision, believing that his side should have had another penalty.
Alexis Mac Allister was kicked by Manchester City's Jeremy Doku in a controversial incident (Image credit: Getty Images)
“This situation, on all positions on the pitch, is 100 per cent a foul and it’s a yellow card. He hit the ball but he can only hit the ball because his foot was right there. If the ball is not there, he kills him.
“It’s as easy as that. It’s a penalty for all football people on the planet. If you don’t think it is one then maybe you’re not a football person.”
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The weekend’s results sees Arsenal at the top of the table, ahead of Liverpool through goal difference. Man City are just a point behind the pair, with 10 Premier League games remaining.
Jacque Talbot is a freelance football journalist who predominantly specialises in transfer stories and exclusives. He began his career in 2016 covering the world-renowned Sandbach United, of North West Counties fame, before earning a spot on the sports desks of national papers, where he bounced between several outlets such as Sportbible, the Express, Mirror, and Daily Star. An NCTJ graduate of the News Associates who swapped investigative journalism in the Costa del Sol for football reporting in Northern England, he first wrote for FourFourTwo in December 2023.
