Guardiola apologizes to Gerrard
In a press conference on February 11, Guardiola confirmed that the English Premier League organizers could not deprive Man City of titles, in the face of allegations of financial violations 113 times in the rules of the tournament, period 2009-2018. "Those moments belong to us, regardless of the verdict. Was Steven Gerrard's slip at Anfield in 2014 our fault?", he said.
In the English Premier League season 2013-2014, Liverpool faced a great opportunity to win the title. But the turning point came in the final rounds. In round 36 against Chelsea, Gerrard suddenly slipped in a situation where Chelsea counterattacked, letting Demba Ba escape to score and open a 2-0 victory for the London team. In the end, Man City took the top and won the championship with two points more than Liverpool.
At the press conference on February 14, before the match for round 12 of the Premier League, Guardiola publicly apologized to Gerrard after calling the 42-year-old former midfielder directly. He said: "I apologize to Gerrard for those silly and unnecessary comments. I have addressed Gerrard directly and would like to do so publicly at this time. I apologize to Gerrard, his wife, children and family. him because those statements are stupid."
After blaming himself, the Spanish coach affirmed that he admires Gerrard for his great career and what he has done for English football. "I would like to defend Man City against the allegations, but do not represent the club by mentioning Gerrard's name in these stupid comments," he added.
Currently, Man City is competing for the title with Arsenal. The difference between the two teams is currently three points, and if they win the match today, Man City will take the top of the table. According to Guardiola, Arsenal are the best club in the Premier League right now, have gone through the perfect first leg and Man City must try to read the game, any player in any area must be ready because it will be a match. great war.
Conceding victory will make a big difference, but Guardiola does not think it will bring the title race to an end. "After playing Arsenal, we played Nottingham Forest, played the Champions League and had six away games in the Premier League. Anything can happen," the 52-year-old coach said.
When asked about Man City's flurry of form since the beginning of 2023, when losing to Man Utd, Tottenham in the Premier League and Southampton in the quarter-finals of the League Cup, Guardiola replied: "I don't think Man City dropped in form last week. And now it's back to normal. Every game is different, you can play well, win and everything is perfect. But tomorrow you can lose and everything is not good."
Guardiola said Erling Haaland suffered a minor injury after the 3-1 win over Aston Villa, and may not risk using the Norwegian striker today. In addition, Man City is only absent John Stones because of a hamstring injury. On the opposite side, Arsenal are without the services of Gabriel Jesus, Reiss Nelson, Emile Smith-Rowe and Mohamed Elneny.
