Pep Guardiola gets into HEATED exchange with Vicente Guaita after Palace kept his side at bay to dent their title hopes… but the Manchester City boss insists he was ‘congratulating him for an incredible display’

Pep Guardiola was involved in a heated debate with goalkeeper Vicente Guaita following Manchester City‘s goalless draw with Crystal Palace.

Guaita kept a clean sheet which could prove costly to Guardiola’s side come the end of the season.

t opens the door for Liverpool to close the gap at the top to just one point, should they beat Arsenal on Wednesday.

But there was a bizarre confrontation after the final whistle between the goalkeeper and the Man City manager.

After the match, Guardiola did not reveal what the animated exchange was about beyond ‘congratulating him for an incredible effort and his saves’.  

Initially, Guardiola gave Guaita a pat on the back, before the goalkeeper seemed to say something which had the manager stop in his tracks.

Guaita continued to put his point across with Guardiola laughing at his Spanish compatriot.

The two then went face-to-face as Guardiola started waving his hands around as he responded to what Guaita was trying to tell him with both men seeming animated. 

They eventually did seem to settle their differences as they embraced before heading their separate ways.

Guardiola would have been frustrated after Guaita put in a fine performance against his side.

He made four saves, including a superb stop to prevent a Kevin De Bruyne volley hitting the back of the net. 

City also hit the post twice, either side of half-time, while Bernardo Silva saw an effort go wide from close range. 

Guaita also kept a clean sheet against City in the reverse fixture which Patrick Vieira’s side won 2-0 at the Etihad in October. 

‘There are still nine games, a lot of points,’ Guardiola said after the goalless draw, admitting he will be tuning in to watch Liverpool’s game at Arsenal.

‘There are many, many games still and the way we play in general is more than good, but we didn’t win and we drop two points.

‘We have points and one game more, (at the) international break we will be the leader – but who knows?

‘We played a fantastic football game in all departments. We created a lot of chances to win and were unfortunate not to score.’

It’s not the first time that Guardiola has had a heated exchange with an opposing player.

Source:dailymail