Man City boss Pep Guardiola takes back ‘diving’ claims about Liverpool’s Sadio Mane

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Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has taken back his ‘diving’ claims that he aimed towards Liverpool superstar Sadio Mane. Here’s what he had to say…

According to the Manchester Evening News, Pep Guardiola has backtracked on his suggestion that Liverpool forward Sadio Mane is a ‘diver’ during his pre-match press conference ahead of Manchester City’s Champions League tie with Atalanta.

As per the MEN, Guardiola stated that “sometimes he’s diving” when questioned about Sadio Mane’s late winner for the Reds against Aston Villa last weekend.

The Senegalese star won a crucial last-minute penalty for the Merseyside outfit in their Premier League clash against Leicester last month, and this appears to be the incident Guardiola was referring to.

The Spaniard has now backtracked from his comments, stating that he may have been wrong to think it wasn’t a penalty.

Pep Guardiola and Sadio Mane.

Here’s Guardiola’s response to the drama:

“What Liverpool has done this season and last season many times is because they have this incredible quality to fight until the end.”

“That’s why I said to my players – not just my son and daughter- that it is not lucky. Sometimes at 94 minutes against Leicester with the penalty it was like ‘wow’.”

“That was the intention for my comment but it was far from my intention to say that Sadio Mane is that type of player. Even with that, the ref and the VAR said penalty. Maybe I was wrong to think it wasn’t a penalty.”

“I was the wrong guy to think it wasn’t a penalty, like Jurgen says he knows Sadio better than me. With Jurgen he tries to be positive, when he says it’s not like this.”

Title challengers Liverpool and Manchester City will go head-to-head in the Premier League this weekend. Recent comments from both Klopp and Guardiola have made the already mammoth clash a must-watch for all football fans.

Sunday afternoon’s encounter has massive title implications, but it’s currently too tough to predict which of these managers will have the bragging rights by the end of the weekend.

More Stories Jurgen Klopp Pep Guardiola Sadio Mane