Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola explained his emotional reaction after the disappointing result against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.
In his post-match press conference, Guardiola was asked about the game and the reason behind his tears. He revealed that he was searching for his daughter in the away section, which caused him great concern.
He said,
was watching [for] my daughter! I tried to look for her but I didn’t find her! And at the end, when everybody went home to drink a good beer, I saw my daughter! So I was watching if I could find her, but I didn’t find her, and at the end I found her…”
Guardiola also discussed the team’s defensive strategy during the match, stating,
“We will try to not be like this. We will try to not be like this. But, when the opponent is better, and we defend deeper, and we have Erling [Haaland] or Tijjani Reijnders, we can use the counter-attack, yes. But our intention is not like that. Sometimes in 10 years when we won the leagues and other titles, always we make counter-attacks. You remember Leroy [Sane] and Raheem [Sterling]? You remember how many counter-attacks we did, with Kevin [De Bruyne]? You remember? I’d prefer not to, but you cannot expect at this level not to do it. It’s impossible.”
Manchester City opened the scoring in the 9th minute with a goal from Erling Haaland. However, one of coach Mikel Arteta’s substitutions, Gabriel Martinelli, equalized three minutes before the end of the match.
Guardiola will be hoping to get back to winning ways as his team prepares to face Burnley, Brentford, and Everton in their next three games.