Pep Guardiola had a strong message for goalkeeper Stefan Ortega, an expert lip reader has now revealed, after the Manchester City boss was seen in a bizarre embrace after throwing away a 2-0 lead against Brentford on Tuesday evening.
Guardiola was in a bizarre embrace with his goalkeeper after the Premier League clash as Brentford struck twice in the closing stages to grab a draw.
The Spaniard appeared angry at Manchester City's capitulation but continued to hug Ortega as he delivered his message.
Guardiola was seen grabbing the 32-year-old, still angry, and punching him in the face as the player turned his head away.
He then grabbed Ortega's head and shouted in his ear, before pulling away and becoming even more frustrated, seemingly shouting in his face.
Guardiola lightly punched his player's chest, then hugged him again and appeared to kiss him on the cheek.
After a few more hugs and exchanges, the two men went their separate ways.
Lip-reading expert Jeremy Freeman has revealed Guardiola had a clear message for Ortega, insisting the goalkeeper 'must take that yellow'.
The implication was that Ortega should have slowed the game down as Man City tried to hold on, despite the potential risk of being shown a yellow card for wasting time.
The exchange came after reports emerged from Spain on Monday evening that Guardiola and his wife Cristina had decided to split after thirty years.
Guardiola, who has three grown-up children with his fashion boss wife, has always stayed at their family home – an £8.4million mansion in Barcelona's most elite area – whenever he has returned to the Catalan capital from Manchester.
He is now expected to leave home, but it was all football business for the Spaniard on Tuesday as his side took on Brentford in the Premier League.
After Guardiola was mocked by fans as he arrived at the ground, Phil Foden had scored a brace for the champions, but Yoane Wissa and Christian Norgaard both struck to ensure the points were shared as City's battle continued.
Despite the criticism leveled at Ortega, lip-reading expert Freeman backed Guardiola's post-match comments that he had also praised the shot-stopper for his performance in the match.
Guardiola also insisted he had praised defender Josko Gvardiol, another player with whom he had an animated conversation after the match.
'Conversation with Josko Gvardiol? How well he played, he played an unbelievable match,” Guardiola said.
'I was satisfied; we talked about one action, but it's the same with Stefan Ortega – I said how well he played.
“His actions with the ball, good passes to Erling Haaland, I am so happy and satisfied, especially with these two players and what they have done.”
Guardiola said after the match: '[I am] Disappointed because it didn't work with a 2-0 lead [the game] before the 2-1, after we had done very well. In the end they played a lot in the box, we are not strong there because of the absences we have, and unfortunately we could not close the match.
“Today we didn't make the right decisions in the final third when we could still run. They have chances in the first minute, they have momentum because they are an incredible team here.
“I felt like we didn't make the right decisions in the final third to close out the game.”
The result puts Man City in sixth place in the Premier League, while the reigning champions are twelve points behind leaders Liverpool and two points behind Chelsea, which occupies the last place in the Champions League.
On Tuesday, the Spanish journalist, who broke the shocking news of Guardiola's divorce, insisted that the Manchester City boss and his wife Cristina did not split because of a third person.
Lorena Vazquez, who is part of a highly respected reporting duo known in Spain as the Mamarazzis, said overnight: “It has been a well-considered decision that the pair have been talking about for months.
'They still have a cordial and loving relationship. No one else is involved. There are no third parties. We continue to see them together.'
She added after revealing the couple's shock split: “They did not expect journalists or media outlets to confirm this split, but I can assure you that they live separately and only a small handful of people knew about it.”
Guardiola said after the match: '[I am] Disappointed because it didn't work with a 2-0 lead [the game] before the 2-1, after we had done very well. In the end they played a lot in the box, we are not strong there because of the absences we have, and unfortunately we could not close the match.
“Today we didn't make the right decisions in the final third when we could still run. They have chances in the first minute, they have momentum because they are an incredible team here.
“I felt like we didn't make the right decisions in the final third to close out the game.”
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