Pep Guardiola praised the genius of Ilkay Gundogan as Manchester City took a massive step towards another title…while taking a swipe himself at Yerry Mina.
City’s players refuse to shake the hand of Mina afterwards, and both Jack Grealish and Erling Haaland become embroiled in heated exchange with the defender.
Guardiola himself remonstrated with Conor Coady and the Colombian at the end of a fine victory, and suggested Mina did “unnecessary” things, hinting at some unsporting gamesmanship.
That seemed to include pinching opponents, including one underhand assault on Aymeric Laporte which was caught on camera, and the visiting manager said: “Coady I am a big fan of him, but Yerry Mina it is unnecessary what he does.”
Asked if that behaviour was aimed at Haaland, he replied: “With everyone, it is unnecessary every single game, I told him, you are a good enough player not to do these kind of things.”
And when asked to expand, Guardiola cryptically retorted: “He knows, he knows, ask him, he knows. This is not about the physical. Not mental either. “There are things it is not necessary to do that he does all the time, this time with Aymeric, Jack, everybody. Ask him.”
While the end of the game left a sour taste, victory was sweet for Guardiola and his team, who celebrated at the end as though they knew it was huge in the title race.
And the Manchester boss again heaped praise on skipper Gundogan, who was outstanding in scoring the first goal and creating the second, on his 300th game for the club - the third most used player during Guardiola’s reign.
It has been suggested the German international will leave to join Barca as a free agent at the end of the season, but Guardiola disputed the assertion when he said: “Nobody knows what is going to happen, maybe he stays. Hopefully (he stays).”
The manager was also asked if he had made clear to his club bosses that he wants Gundogan to stay, and he added: “Yes, they know, I have told them.
“He shows again, again and again his quality and his importance, his commitment to all of us at the club. He can do everything. He doesn’t talk much (as a captain) but when he talks, everyone listens. This is the power of a leader. He shows leadership every training session, living the job 24 hours a day. He plays like he’s playing now. Amazing.”
Everton boss Sean Dyche insisted he knew nothing about Guardiola’s allegations, and jokingly suggested it can hardly happen every week: “If he did it all the time, I wouldn’t know where (Pep) had seen it because he hasn’t been on the pitch for weeks.
“Every manager has his own way of working. I wouldn’t question Pep Guardiola. I wouldn’t want other managers questioning me. They do.”
Defeat means Everton could go into the bottom three if Leicester win on Monday night, but Dyche insisted: “There was a lot of the performance which was right against a top side, so we can take away a lot.”
The Blues boss also revealed that he replaced Dominic Calvert-Lewin at half time as a precaution after the striker felt a tight groin. “He wanted to carry on, but I said, ‘Dom, you’re coming off’.”
