Pep Guardiola insists Gianluigi Donnarumma’s injury was genuine after Leeds boss Daniel Farke claimed the goalkeeper faked it during City’s 3-2 win
PEP Guardiola defended Gianluigi Donnarumma after Leeds United manager Daniel Farke suggested the goalkeeper had faked an injury during Manchester City’s dramatic 3-2 Premier League victory.
City dominated the first half at Etihad Stadium, with Phil Foden scoring after just 59 seconds before Josko Gvardiol doubled their advantage.
Leeds fought back after halftime as substitute Dominic Calvert-Lewin pulled a goal back for the visitors.
The match stood at 2-1 when home goalkeeper Donnarumma required medical attention, prompting Guardiola to gather his players during the stoppage.
Leeds equalised shortly afterward when Gvardiol conceded a penalty, with Lukas Nmecha scoring on the rebound after Donnarumma’s initial save.
Guardiola insisted he believed Donnarumma’s injury was genuine, immediately instructing substitute goalkeeper James Trafford to warm up.
“I didn’t speak with Gigio,” Guardiola said. “When it happened, I looked back to the dugout and said ‘James, warm up’. I don’t know. Next press conference you can ask me and I will ask Gigio.”
Farke remained adamant the injury incident significantly changed the game’s momentum despite his team’s equaliser.
“It is within the rules,” said the German manager. “It is smart. (Whether) I like it, (whether) it is in the sense of fair play… I keep it to myself and I leave it to the authorities to find solutions for it.”
Farke revealed he questioned the fourth official about the incident during the match.
“I asked the fourth official at this point if you want to do something and he said: ‘No, our hands are tied, we can’t do anything’,” Farke explained.
The Leeds manager expressed his dissatisfaction with what he perceived as gamesmanship.
“If we don’t educate our players in football, what to do in terms of fair play? Sportsmanship?” Farke continued. “If you just try to bend the rules to your advantage and you can do a fake injury in order to do an additional team talk, it is nothing I personally like but if it is within the rules, I can’t complain about it.”
City’s victory came after successive defeats against Newcastle United and Bayer Leverkusen.
Guardiola described Foden’s late winner as a relief for his team.
“The game was not perfect in the first half but it should be over with the chances we had,” Guardiola admitted. “We didn’t concede and after that they damaged us with the system, like Leverkusen has done with a 5-3-2.”
The City manager praised his team’s response to conceding the equaliser.
“Football is emotions,” Guardiola said. “We conceded the second and after we made a step up. We reacted really well. We had to put the ball quickly in the box. With the full-backs, wingers, it doesn’t matter and in the end it’s the quality of Phil.” – AFP
