Last season, Manchester City went out of the season without a title. For Pep Guardiola, something completely unheard of. One of the world’s best coaches admitted he would have been fired at Real Madrid if he had done the same there. City retained confidence in their successful coach, now the Premier League trophy could once again end up at the Etihad. This weekend’s game against Arsenal unsurprisingly created a media storm, but for some to criticize the celebration, that’s the limit for Pep Guardiola.
Manchester City are in a position to top the Premier League. This came after the dramatic 2-1 win over league leaders Arsenal with Haaland as the match-winner. The match had it all, after the final whistle the football world also got to see a celebration we only see when a club has actually won the Premier League. Wayne Rooney thought it was far too much, when Erling Haaland threw himself into ecstatic celebrations with the City players.
Wayne Rooney expressed his displeasure with the celebration scenes, reminding the City players that nothing has been decided yet in relation to the title. Now Guardiola is facing criticism from Rooney and several football-talking experts.
“People can say whatever stupid things they want, but when we celebrated the victory, the way we did, it was because of the opponent’s qualities. We knew that if we didn’t win, it would be goodbye and thank you. Despite that, we managed to win, so how can it not be allowed to celebrate? As much as you have to respect your opponent and their fans, you have to be allowed to celebrate a result exactly as you want. Should you wait until the season is over? Come on!”, Guardiola begins briskly to BBC Sport.
“I’ve told the players to go down to our fans and enjoy the moment after every game. What’s the point of not doing it? Can you only celebrate a victory once? And if you don’t win, do you have to cry all the time? Of course, we shouldn’t celebrate a win in the middle of the week if it’s a 3-0 or 4-0 win and the opponent is different. Everyone knew what was at stake in this game. It was a final. Maybe it wasn’t for them, but for us it was a final and of course we have to celebrate that,” Pep Guardiola concludes.
End of discussion.
