Manchester: Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has publicly expressed remorse after his heated confrontation with a cameraman in the aftermath of City’s disappointing 2-1 defeat to Newcastle United on Saturday. The tense moment unfolded moments after the final whistle at St James’ Park, where Guardiola reacted strongly to being filmed at close range while he was speaking with Newcastle midfielder Bruno Guimarães and match officials.
The City boss was visibly frustrated over Newcastle’s match-winning goal in the 70th minute — a decision that Manchester City players felt should have been disallowed for a foul on goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Speaking at a press conference on Monday ahead of City’s Champions League encounter with Bayer Leverkusen, Guardiola admitted he was not proud of his behaviour.
“I feel embarrassed and ashamed when I see it,” Guardiola said. “I apologised to the cameraman after one second. I’m not perfect, even after 1,000 games. I made a huge mistake, but in that moment I just wanted to defend my team and my club.”
Despite suffering their fourth Premier League defeat of the season — a setback that leaves them third in the standings and seven points behind league leaders Arsenal — Guardiola insisted that the Newcastle loss has been “immediately forgotten” as the focus shifts to European competition.
Manchester City currently sit fourth in the new 36-team Champions League league phase after a strong opening to their continental campaign.
However, Guardiola will be without key midfielders Rodri and Mateo Kovacic for Tuesday’s fixture. While there is no fixed timeline for Rodri’s return, the manager remains optimistic.
“We will wait a little more to be sure he is fine,” Guardiola added, suggesting the Spaniard’s comeback is not far away.
City will look to bounce back quickly as they chase momentum in Europe while attempting to close the gap in the Premier League title race.
