- Mourinho seemingly aims swipe at Guardiola after FA Cup loss
- Pair have had a rivalry over the years, could spark a response
- Wigan win was overshadowed by unsavoury scenes at the DW Stadium
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As he has shown on countless occasions throughout his management career, Jose Mourinho can be very clever with his words, and Pep Guardiola knows about it.
The pair clashed for a number of years in Spain when in charge of Real Madrid and Barcelona respectively, although they seem to have allowed their rivalry to settle since crossing paths again in England.
However, comments like these from Mourinho will only stoke the fire as the Portuguese tactician has seemingly aimed a sideswipe at his rival after they were knocked out of the FA Cup earlier this week.
City’s 1-0 defeat to Wigan at the DW Stadium was overshadowed by footage of a bust-up in the tunnel involving Guardiola, before a pitch invasion led to some unsavoury scenes.
Further, the Spaniard was a little short in his post-match press conference and somewhat sarcastic at times, and it appears as though Mourinho has used it as ammunition to have a dig.
“In the Carabao Cup, after winning last season, we lost in the quarter-final but we lost like Manchester United likes to lose – with dignity, with fair play, with participation in the happiness of a giant killer,” he is quoted as saying by The Sun, who make a direct correlation between Mourinho’s comments and City.
“So even in the Capital (Carabao) Cup, we lost against a Championship team, I would say that as a Manchester United manager that way of behaving as a big team, even in defeat we were a big team.”
Now we can’t kid ourselves into thinking that Mourinho has always reacted in the right way whether it’s with rival managers, the media or otherwise, and so it seems a bit rich to hit out at Guardiola and City over this situation.
Nevertheless, it may well ruffle a few feathers but with a 16-point gap at the top of the Premier League table, Guardiola will likely have his mind focused on winning trophies this season as he also prepares for the League Cup final this weekend.