Pep Guardiola defends Man City with jibe about Steven Gerrard’s Liverpool slip
Rewind to April 2014. Liverpool just needed a draw against Chelsea to maintain their title charge as they were 11 games unbeaten and Brendan Rodgers could lead the Reds to their first league title in 24 years. Fate had other things written for the Merseysiders.
Late into the first half of the game against Chelsea, Steven Gerrard slipped trying to control a pass from Mamadou Sakho obviously making it the easiest of tasks for Chelsea forward Demba Ba to latch onto it and put it beyond Simon Mignolet. The Reds eventually lost that game 2-0 and narrowly lost out on the title to Manchester City and had to wait six more seasons to get their league title.
However, why are we talking about a game that is far from bringing good memories to the Reds? Manchester City, after a four-year investigation, stands charged with about 100 charges by the Premier League allegations of financial misconduct over a nine-year period.
One of the punishments City could potentially face is stripping off their titles in this time frame following which Guardiola said that whatever happened with Liverpool and Steven Gerrard is not the Cityzens’ fault and maintains his team’s innocence in the matter. Here is what he said via Liverpool Echo:
“The goal from Aguero, when Balotelli slipped? I don’t know if we are responsible for Steven Gerrard slipping at Anfield. Was that our fault? I have respect for Steven Gerrard – but that moment belongs to us.
“The moments that we lived these years together, the Premier League will decide…but I know what we won and the way we won it. I know the effort we put in. If something happened in 2009 or 2010 it is not going to change one second.”
Is Guardiola right in dragging Gerrard?
Moreover, Guardiola believes that the accusations of financial mismanagement and misconduct against Manchester City stand fueled by “jealousy” from other clubs who want to emulate their success.
However, the jibe against Gerrard, who is arguably one of the best midfielders in the history of the sport, seems totally unnecessary. Moreover, even in the scenario of Jurgen Klopp wanting to get back at Pep for the same, there aren’t many legends from City who are half as successful as Gerrard to aim at.
Jokes aside, it will certainly be interesting to observe the developments after the allegations and whether Manchester City will lose its domestic titles. In that case, Liverpool and Manchester United, both will get three league titles each and Stevie could potentially wear that PL medal that he rightfully deserves.
More Liverpool News:
- Liverpool interested in Lazio midfielder Sergej Milinkovic-Savic
- Liverpool midfielder Naby Keita set for summer exit from Anfield
- Newcastle United’s Callum Wilson jumps to defend Liverpool striker Darwin Nunez
Liverpool have an all-important Merseyside Derby on Monday night, and hopefully, the Reds can turn around their fortunes this season by starting against a new-look Everton side under Sean Dyche.
