Pep rejects Liverpool grass claims: ‘I never made a call’

Pep Guardiola has rejected claims he had ordered the grass to be grown longer at the Etihad Stadium ahead of last week’s 2-1 win over Liverpool.

The result reignited the Premier League title race as City closed the gap on Jurgen Klopp‘s leaders to four points with 17 matches of the season left to play.

The Anfield Wrap podcast suggested after the clash that City wanted the grass long to halt Liverpool‘s quick passing style – but Guardiola completely rejected those claims.

“I am not the groundskeeper,” Guardiola said. “I never did. If they want to play quick, we want to play quicker. Always we try to put water (on the pitch) but it’s not necessary here with the weather. We want to cut the field always.

“It’s better conditions for both teams. When this happens, you do the best for your opponents. We have to respect them with the rules.

“I never speak with the groundsmen…I trust the groundsmen. I never made a phone call to say ‘do this to damage our opponents’.”

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