Pep Guardiola Surprised by Solskjaer Comments
Manchester
City boss Pep Guardiola is amazed by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's pre-derby warning
to his Manchester United players that they should be ready to be kicked at Old
Trafford on Wednesday.
On Tuesday
morning Solskjaer said: "There will be fouls. They will snap at your
ankles and heels and kick you."
"Did he
say that? With 65% or 70% possession, how do we do that?" said Guardiola.
"I
don't like it. My side is not built like that, not at all."
Guardiola
has previously denied accusations he tells his teams to commit 'tactical fouls'
to halt opposition counter-attacks.
Privately,
City are bemused at United letting Solskjaer speak about the issue, mainly
because the statistics do not back up the Norwegian's view.
According to
Opta, City have conceded 170 free-kicks, excluding offsides, in the opposition
half so far this season. In contrast, United have conceded 195.
In addition,
City have amassed 38 yellow cards and one red in the Premier League this season
- for United, the figures are 64 and four.
"In 10
seasons as a manager, I never prepared for a game thinking about these thing.
Never," insisted Guardiola.
"In
football, you sometimes do that [foul] because the actions are so fast. But I
never said we should do it to punish an opponent or cancel them. Maybe after
the game you can ask him in the press conference."
In November,
Guardiola was given a formal warning by the Football Association for speaking
about referee Anthony Taylor before the previous Manchester derby at Etihad
Stadium, which City won 3-1.
In
October, Newcastle manager Rafael Benitez was fined £60,000 for comments he
made about Andre Marriner before a goalless draw with Crystal Palace.
Marriner
will be in charge at Old Trafford and, as FA rules specifically forbid managers
speaking about referees prior to matches, Solskjaer risked a sanction when he
said: "They [City] commit so many players forward and you can clearly see
that they've got them in that mould of trying to win the ball back, and they do
make fouls.
"It's
up to us to play through that press, be ready, play one and two-touch, don't
give them time. If you spend two or three touches… it's not my decision, it's
the referee's responsibility to do that."
Asked if
those comments could influence Marriner, Guardiola said: "That's the
reason why, of course.
"But I
don't think it will be successful because we don't do it."
No comments