Pep Guardiola explodes in Newcastle United rant - will be banned after Man City incident at St James' Park
Newcastle United 1-3 Manchester City: Pep Guardiola couldn’t hide his anger and now faces a ban following his side’s FA Cup win at St James’ Park.
Newcastle United were knocked out of the FA Cup by Manchester City at St James’ Park on Saturday evening.
It saw City progress to the quarter-finals of the FA Cup for an eighth successive season as Savinho and an Omar Marmoush brace cancelled out Harvey Barnes’ opening goal as the match ended 3-1.
But Manchester City head coach Pep Guardiola lost control of his emotions on the touchline as he protested a decision against his side and was booked by referee Sam Barrott. In the aftermatch, Guardiola then squared up to fourth official Lewis Smith and was fortunate not to be sent off.
He will now face a two-match touchline ban after repeat offences regarding his touchline conduct. He will miss the West Ham United match in the Premier League as well as the FA Cup quarter-final.
When asked about what angered him on the touchline, Guardiola launched into a rant.
“Listen, when Jeremy Doku dribbled [past] Trippier, and go all the way to the box, and he's being pulled from behind, I'm not asking a yellow card, but please, it's foul, or maybe except in this country, it's [a] foul,” Guardiola said. “And I will defend my team.
“I'll tell you something, we have all the records in this country. All of them. Despite everything, we have all the records. And we have the record of managing more yellow cards.
“So, I always wanted a new record, and now I have it. Two games banned now, because it's the second incident, and now we go on holidays the next two days.”
After a brief pause, Guardiola continued unprompted: “Oh my God. Oh my God. Of course I'm going to defend Doku. I know my team. They continue to do it. They can.”
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Pep Guardiola on win v NUFC
Saturday was the fifth time Manchester City have faced Newcastle this season, with Guardiola’s side winning each of the last four since the 2-1 Premier League defeat back in November at St James’ Park.
“In the first one we could not win for the quality of the muscle and for another reason that is better not to remember,” Guardiola added. “And today was on the pitch as well.
“The first 15–20 minutes has always happened. We talked about that in the first 15–20 minutes. Newcastle, we could not control it.
“This was the best game we've played against Newcastle here. So, really, really pleased how we behaved, how we played, defensively, offensively, concentration. So, eight times in a row for the quarter final of the FA Cup, that means how good this organisation is.”
Eddie Howe reacts to Manchester City defeat
Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe admitted it was a deserved defeat for his side after a bright start.
“I think we started really well for half an hour,” he told BBC Sport. “I thought we were excellent. We just ran out of gas. It was a difficult second half for us.
"For us, we tried to mix sides and some players played a lot of the games.
"[Manchester City’s] level of performance was very high today. When you're chasing the game, it becomes a different dynamic.
"They are so good in that build-up phase and recycling the ball around the box.