Manchester City goalkeeper Stefan Ortega hit back with a nasty dig at Liverpool City after manager Pep Guardiola taunted them with sackings in the 2-0 defeat at Anfield on Sunday.
Goals from Cody Gakpo and Mohamed Salah ensured the Reds took a nine-point lead in the Premier League title race, ending all chances of City retaining their crown as their winless streak extended to seven games in all competitions.
Reds fans were obviously aware of the Cityzens’ poor recent run, taking aim at the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss as chants of “fired in the morning” echoed around the Merseyside ground. Guardiola was then seen holding up six fingers to the crowd in reference to the amount Premier League titles he has won and he later admitted that he was surprised to hear the chanting.
Ortega, who was joined the starting line-up at Ederson in a bid to stem City’s recent rot, then made an offhand remark about the host city on Sunday and backed up his manager’s response to the chants.
The goalkeeper said: “Someone said to me before that this area is probably not the best part of the UK. Yeah, I think the manager reacted really well.”
Guardiola had previously responded: “All the stadiums want to sack me, it started at Brighton. Maybe they’re right with the results we’ve had. I didn’t expect that at Anfield. They didn’t do it at 1-0, but at 2-0 maybe they had to sing it in the past.
“I didn’t expect that from people Liverpoolbut it’s fine, it’s part of the game and I completely understand. We had incredible battles together. I respect them.
“I’m sitting here as a manager and defending what we’ve done in the past thanks to the City players and more than ever I want to be with them and embrace them.”
