Manchester City let a two-goal lead slip at Brentford, losing out in stoppage time, with Pep Guardiola engaging in a heated discussion with goalkeeper Stefan Ortega
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola was involved in a heated post-match discussion with Stefan Ortega.
The champions had just squandered a 2-0 lead with Christian Norgaard equalising for Brentford in stoppage time – both of the Bees’ goals coming in the final 10 minutes. Ortega was unable to stop either strike despite getting a big hand to the leveller as City failed to hold out following a late onslaught from the hosts.
The City goalkeeper has become a regular, owing to an injury sustained by Ederson. Ortega is tipped to eventually become the club’s No.1 but will have huge shoes to fill if he does replace the Brazilian, who has been first choice throughout the majority of Guardiola’s dominant reign.
With emotions still high, Guardiola chose to pass on some messages to his goalkeeper, but the discussion looked particularly heated as the duo continued to talk as they walked off the pitch.
The point brings City’s three-match winning run to an end as they look to rediscover the form they’ve shown for so long. The stalemate also means they failed to jump into the top four with the manager criticising the decisions they took in the attacking third.
Guardiola told TNT Sports: “We’re a bit disappointed but at 2-0 up we didn’t manage to hold on to the lead and unfortunately we couldn’t close the game. Today we didn’t take the right decisions in the final third. I had the feeling that we didn’t take the right decisions in the final third to close the game.”
He also added: “With the absence of the central defenders, Rodri, with many things, we are not [at our best] and we didn’t take the right decisions. It’s fine, it’s not a good place to come. Unfortunately, we couldn’t win.”
The City boss confessed he was at a loss to explain why they’ve struggled to hold onto leads. Over recent months, they have scored first in numerous games but have been unable to convert those into wins, which is hampering their campaign.
Phil Foden, who scored the team’s opener, was equally critical and bemoaned the team’s drop off after they took the lead. “We just looked tired at the end, the last 20, 30 minutes,” he said. “We looked leggy and they put the pressure on and put longer balls into the box.
“We didn’t cope with the physicality at the end. It’s one of the toughest places to come and they give you different challenges. I was happy with the performance up until we went 1-0 up and then after that we let our performance slip.”
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