Pep Guardiola denies City grass was left long for Liverpool match

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has categorically denied directing the club’s groundstaff to allow the pitch grass to grow longer ahead of Liverpool’s recent Premier League visit.

City beat the Reds 2-1 at the Etihad Stadium last Thursday to end the 20-match unbeaten run of Jurgen Klopp’s side.

In the wake of the defeat, some Liverpool fans suggested that Guardiola had ordered City staff to keep the grass longer to disrupt the Red’s fast attacking play.

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MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – JANUARY 03: Leroy Sane of Manchester City is challenged by Georginio Wijnaldum of Liverpool during the Premier League match between Manchester City and Liverpool FC at the Etihad Stadium on January 3, 2019 in Manchester, United Kingdom. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

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However, the Spaniard was quick to dismiss the idea when asked about it today.

“I’m not the green keeper,” said Guardiola, as quoted by The Independent. “I never spoke to the groundsman about this. If Liverpool want to play quick, we want to play quicker. We never tried to manipulate it.

“In the past, I have asked for pitches to be watered, but it was not necessary here because of the conditions; it rained a lot.

“In all my 10 years as a manager, I have wanted to create better conditions for both teams. I never tried to play a trick. You win the game on the pitch with the rules the same for everybody.

“I never speak to the groundsman. I have too many issues in my head to think about that. I trust the groundsman. I never made a phone call to say: ‘Do this kind of thing to damage our opponents.’ Always we do things to try to win in the best way.”

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Source: anfieldhq.com