Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has complained about the state of the pitch at the Etihad Stadium by comparing it to other club’s “carpets”.
City bounced back to winning ways in midweek with a 5-2 victory over Southampton in the Premier League after a small blip against arch-rivals Manchester United at the weekend.
And Guardiola doesn’t have much to be unhappy about but the current condition of the Etihad pitch has him concerned.
MEDIAWATCH: Martial no longer ‘brilliant’ as ‘gormless’ Arsenal scrape win
“They are working on it a lot to try and find a solution but the grass is not good,” Guardiola said in a press conference on Friday.
“We know the weather is bad, but in London, against Arsenal, at Anfield, Old Trafford, in Budapest, the grass was better, incredible, like a carpet. But here it is not good.”
Phil Foden was at the centre of controversy against Southampton with the midfielder doing his best to stay on his feet under a challenge from Alex McCarthy in the penalty area.
Ok so here’s the video of Foden with an open goal, and Southampton’s GK wiping him out
This was not given as a penalty
What is VAR for? pic.twitter.com/EWzQvzAWpB
— •Adam• (@adamfut_) March 10, 2021
On whether he will encourage his players to go down rather than stay on their feet, Guardiola added”: “The players want to score goals, sometimes they have the ability to provoke fouls. This is a talent, the referees decide who is trying to cheat or not.
“This isn’t the question, it’s for the referees. The referees is a difficult job, so complicated. The game is faster than ever, transitions and the distances.
“That’s why VAR is there, to wait 5-10 seconds and take a look. It’s not that decisions because it punished us right now, sometimes happens to other sides. All the managers have arguments to sometimes complain.
“Have to do it better to avoid these kind of situations. That is the target for VAR. This is the first, second season with it here, next season hopefully it will be better.”
The post Guardiola complains about City pitch compared to Old Trafford ‘carpet’ appeared first on Football365.com.