What Pep Guardiola did to Stefan Ortega on the pitch immediately after Man City vs Brentford has stunned fans.
Pep Guardiola’s actions towards goalkeeper Stefan Ortega immediately after Manchester City’s 2-2 draw at Brentford has left fans stunned.
City conceded a late equaliser through Christian Norgaard after they had gone in front through Phil Foden’s brace.
Guardiola’s side were due to go back into the top four places before injury time began, but a combination of Norgaard’s goal and Chelsea equalising at home to Bournemouth means City stay in sixth place.
The Danish midfielder scored with a header, which Ortega got two hands to but could only palm into the corner of the net.
Guardiola wasn’t happy with his goalkeeper as he entered the field of play – but despite numerous examples of his unorthodox confrontations with players in the past, this particular incident stunned fans.
The Spaniard was clearly agitated with Ortega and started by putting his arm around the goalkeeper in an aggressive manner, before then shouting at him several times.
He then patted Ortega on the back of his head as the pair walked away, but their animated conversation continued as they walked back to the dressing room.
You can see the confrontation below.
Pep Guardiola GOES OFF at Stefan Ortega after Manchester City blew a two-goal lead 😡
Watch 📲 https://t.co/pw74sTKZ7u pic.twitter.com/r4ju4KX6zq
— Optus Sport (@OptusSport) January 14, 2025
Speaking after the match, Guardiola told TNT Sports: “We are disappointed because we were 2-0 up, we didn’t manage before 2-1.
“After, we managed really good. At the end, they put a lot of players in the box, we are not strong there because of the options that we have. Unfortunately, we could not close the game. We didn’t take the right decisions in the final third.”
He continued: “The people up front were brilliant but we didn’t take the right decisions. Commit a bit more, attack more the keeper.
“But it’s fine. It’s not a nice place to come. Maybe in other years, we had more chances when we came here. But we did not win – it is what it is. We have to manage a little bit better but today was not bad.”
