Following Manchester City’s 3-1 victory in west London, Kyle Walker and Brentford’s Neal Maupay got into a heated altercation, which Pep Guardiola declined to talk about.
In the final moments, the England defender lost his temper over something Maupay said to him, and his manager had to console him.
Throughout the game, home fans had been making fun of City captain Walker’s personal life.
After the final whistle, Guardiola spoke with French striker Maupay for a considerable amount of time. However, when questioned about the incident later, Guardiola merely replied, “Next question!”
Speaking of hat-trick hero Phil Foden, Guardiola was more upbeat following the victory in west London, which, along with Arsenal’s victory over Liverpool on Sunday, put City two points behind the Reds with one game remaining.
Last season, Brentford was the only team to defeat City both at home and away. With Maupay’s goal, Brentford appeared to be going for a “three-peat.”
However, Foden eventually overcame a motivated Bees keeper in Mark Flekken to bring City level prior to halftime.
After Kevin De Bruyne’s cross put them ahead early in the second half, the England midfielder finished off a stunning treble to give the visitors complete control over their title fate.
Guardiola remarked, “I said weeks ago that Phil is having his most influence on the team.”
“He has a great understanding of the game and knows how to play both simply and aggressively.
“He always enjoys scoring goals and poses a threat when he’s near the 18-yard line. He is a very talented player. Quite young, with over 250 games played for City already. That indicates the impact ever since he got here.
“He enjoys playing football, and even as a young child, he still retains this sense of amateur culture when he sees players on the street. He enjoys playing a lot, and he has been really valuable to us this season.
Regarding his gait in cramped areas. I’ve watched a lot of really talented players, but Phil has a lot of impact and can score when he gets the ball.
“It’s hard to find this combination to move in the pockets, after being like a knife and being so aggressive and score goals,” the player said of his ability to shoot or assist.
With a goal right out of the Brentford playbook, the Bees took the lead in the twenty-first minute.
In reality, Flekken took credit for the assist when he punted the ball towards Ivan Toney, who backed into Nathan Ake to clear the defender’s path and allow the ball to bounce past.
With Ederson out of the way, Maupay was able to sprint effortlessly and score his fifth goal of the season.
Boss Thomas Frank stated, “We know we have a strength there with Ivan.”
“We don’t always do it, but it can be useful when facing a pressing team. Neal, Ivan, and Mark deserve praise for solving the problem on their own.
We faced a decent team, I must admit! We gave a good performance. We excel at many things.
