Pep Guardiola slammed Manchester City great Phil Foden last season, as revealed in a documentary produced by the club.
Guardiola raged outside the dressing room after City's 2-2 draw at home to Crystal Palace in December 2023, leaving them three points behind leaders Liverpool.
As we know, City recovered their form and stormed to a fourth straight league title, but the documentary title 'Together: 4-In-A-Row' provides an insight into Guardiola's frayed emotions in a testing period not unlike today.
City have lost four games in a row – a first in Guardiola's career – and will look to gain ground in the title race with games against Tottenham and Liverpool after the document is released.
In the draw against Palace, City were 2-0 up but Jean-Philippe Mateta pulled a late goal back before Foden brought him down in the penalty area in stoppage time – and Michael Olise deservedly equalised.
Guardiola was furious. “Phil, you can't hit the opponent in the damn 18-yard box. It's unacceptable, Phil Foden, unacceptable!'
He shouted at the entire team: 'You need to apologize. You are teenagers. I say something if we drop points against Tottenham and Liverpool? Am I saying something? Tell me. I blame you? Am I saying something?
“Here (pointing to his head), use it. Here, you have to use it! Damn hell. Damn it,” Guardiola said as he walked around the room.
Despite his fiery attitude, Guardiola admitted he regrets the way he sometimes behaves towards his coterie of stars.
'Sometimes I'm not really proud. Usually, right after the match, when I'm angry, because of my emotions, at the players.
'I'm human and I make mistakes and I don't like that. I don't like it.
'At that moment of being 2-0 down, an unnecessary penalty, sometimes I can't control myself.'
City were prone to late goals during that period, as Gary Lineker notes in the documentary.
In November, Nicolas Jackson had equalized in the 94th minute at Stamford Bridge, giving Chelsea a 4–4 draw.
A few weeks later, Trent Alexander-Arnold equalized in the 80th minute at the Etihad Stadium, prompting his viral silence celebration.
Things only got worse in December when Tottenham recovered from a 3-1 deficit to salvage a draw thanks to a Dejan Kulusevski try in the 90th minute.
By the time they were drawn to Palace, City had dropped to fourth, although the margins were tight.
The parallels with their current situation are striking: City led in two of the previous four games they lost.
But they can also take confidence in the knowledge that they came back stronger from last season's tough period. And armed with a new contract, expect Guardiola to be as invested as he was when he reprimanded Foden.
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