Pep Guardiola felt he deserved more respect from the Liverpool fans than to be taunted during Manchester City’s 2-0 defeat at Anfield on Sunday.
The City manager was subjected to chants he would be “sacked in the morning” as the Reds closed in on a victory that condemned the champions to a fourth successive Premier League loss.
It is the worst run of Guardiola’s glittering career but he responded to the jibes by holding up six fingers to represent the number of league titles he has won with City.
It was a good-humoured but nevertheless defiant gesture from Guardiola, whose past battles with Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool are among the competition’s most storied.
Guardiola, who has now lost six out of seven in all competitions, said: “I’m so proud of my six Premier Leagues against that team (Liverpool) and the previous teams.
“I didn’t expect Anfield to start to chant at 0-2 that I would be sacked.
“Maybe I deserve to be sacked, honestly, with our results, or maybe I’m still in the job because I won six Premier Leagues and a lot of titles!
“But I didn’t expect them to sing at 0-2. Maybe they should sing at 0-1 when the game was tighter or maybe last season or the previous season.
“Maybe in Brighton they did it, so I understand, but at Anfield I didn’t expect it. But it’s fine. It’s part of the game. When you win, you laugh, when you lose, they laugh. I have to accept it.”
City goalkeeper Stefan Ortega, who was surprisingly selected ahead of Ederson, responded to the Guardiola chants with a pointed remark about the city of Liverpool.
The German told talkSPORT: “Someone told me before that this area is probably not the best part of the UK. I think the manager reacted really well.”
City were outplayed by the high-flying Reds and were fortunate not to lose by a heavier margin.
An early strike from Cody Gakpo rewarded the hosts for a strong start and Mohamed Salah wrapped up the points in the second half.
It was a potentially telling blow to City’s hopes of winning a fifth successive title with the result leaving them trailing the Merseysiders by 11 points.
Guardiola hopes it marks a nadir and the team can start to rebuild from Wednesday’s home game against Nottingham Forest.
He said: “I want the team back and the players back. Call me delusional but I have the feeling that from here we will start to build back to winning games and confidence.
“This group of players gave me absolutely everything – probably the best years of my life as a manager – but I have to find a solution with the players to try to win games.”
Opposite number Arne Slot, who succeeded Klopp in the summer, felt no sympathy for Guardiola, who has won 18 trophies at City.
The Dutchman said: “You feel sympathy or empathy with the managers in a really bad place, they have lost many games or are down at the bottom of the league.
“But Pep has won so many things, so no-one has to feel empathy or sorry for Pep. Maybe other managers, but not Pep. He will be able to bring City back.”
Leaders Liverpool now have a nine-point lead over second-placed Arsenal but Slot, who also oversaw a momentous victory over Real Madrid in midweek, is not getting carried away.
He said: “Playing against Real Madrid and Manchester City – teams that have been and are so good with managers that have won so many trophies – it is always nice to come out as a winner.
“But while we are really happy with these two wins we know it is not enough to win at the end of the season.”
