Pep Guardiola will not receive a penalty for the celebration at the Etihad, while Liverpool will be in trouble for surrounding the referee.
Man City beat Liverpool 4-1 at the Etihad last weekend. In this match, coach Pep Guardiola caused controversy when he celebrated Julian Alvarez’s equalizer in front of Kostas Tsimikas and shook Arthur Melo’s hand. This action made Pep Guardiola receive a lot of criticism, but the Spanish strategist insisted he did not mean to disrespect the opponent.
According to the Liverpool Echo, Pep Guardiola also did not receive any punishment from the English Football Association. Meanwhile, Liverpool will face the risk of receiving a penalty for surrounding referee Simon Hooper and demanding a red card for Rodri after a foul on Cody Gakpo. At that time, the Spaniard had to receive a yellow card before but did not receive a second yellow card for his tackle.
Before Pep Guardiola, there were a number of coaches who had to receive punishment for their behavior outside the touchline. Jurgen Klopp received a one-match ban for confronting the assistant referee in the first leg match between Liverpool and Man City. Meanwhile, Antonio Conte and Thomas Tuchel both received penalties for collisions outside the touchline in August during the London derby between Chelsea and Tottenham.
Liverpool have lost five of their 10 Premier League games in 2023. This is more than all of 2022’s losses (35 games played, 4 losses).
Tonight, Liverpool will face Chelsea. A win will help them keep their hopes up in the top 4 race.