The Manchester City manager was cryptic in his post-match interview with reporters.
It turns out the win wasn't a return to form but the dip itself, a brief ray of hope for what will be a season to forget for Manchester City. Crystal Palace twice took the lead and fought for a valuable point against Guardiola's all-conquering machine that seems clumsy and, well, robotic to the point of predictability in the Premier League this season.
City's poor form – 21 goals conceded in six defeats, two draws and one win in the last nine games – was media fodder for the duration, and a comprehensive 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest was seen as a step up. in the right direction, but the smiles didn't last long as they stumbled in a rainy south London to draw 2-2 with Crystal Palace.
After the match, Guardiola didn't scratch his head until it bled, but there was some (okay, a lot) of confusion when he was asked about the red card given to young midfielder Rico Lewis, who had to take an early bath. In the second half he received a second yellow card after a late challenge.
What did Pep Guardiola say about Rico Lewis' red card?
Pep: “It's because it's Rico.”
Reporter: “Sorry?”
Pep: “It's Rico.”
Reporter: “Sorry, I couldn't hear you…”
Pep: “It's because it's Rico.”
Reporter: “Do you think he got the yellow card because it's Rico Lewis?”
Pep: “Is it a yellow card?”
Reporter: “No, I'm asking you; Did you think it was a yellow card?”
Pep: “It's Rico Lewis.”
Guardiola praises 'incredible effort'
This conversation left reporters scratching their heads as they frantically tried to figure out what Guardiola meant by it. It's safe to say that no one has been the wiser after staring at the words as Tracey Emin's My Bed artwork.
As the conversation continued, Guardiola decided that normal penalties were the best way: “How we played the last 15, 16 minutes was 10 against 11. We have seven potential starting XI who are injured… A lot of players with minutes, the physicality with Crystal Palace is there. We were there and did everything we could to try to win. I'm really proud and happy for the players,” he admitted.
Speaking about the energy left in the players' legs, he said that “the effort from Gundogan and Bernardo was incredible. Both wingers were very good. We need new legs in that position, Jeremy [Doku] is coming off a long injury and played 90 minutes. Jac [Grealish] yesterday feels niggles, discomfort and comes from a long term injury.
“I had the feeling that we were at 2-2. Unfortunately we couldn't finish with 11.”
This confusing exchange comes just days after Mourinho and Guardiola took us all back to 2012 with a back-and-forth, with the Portuguese manager saying: “Pep said he won six Premier Leagues and I won three, but I won fair and square. If I did that, lose, I want to congratulate my opponent because they are better than me. I don't want to win with 150 lawsuits.”
Guardiola responded by saying: “If I offended him I am so sorry. But it was a joke. The fact is he has three, I have six. This is a fact.”
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