Liverpool star Kostas Tsimikas reveals what Guardiola told him after controversial celebration

Kostas Tsimikas has revealed what Pep Guardiola told him after the Man City manager clapped the Liverpool left-back in the face.

Liverpool’s games against Man City are rarely without incident and April’s clash at the Etihad was no exception.

Guardiola was criticized after celebrating against Tsimikas and Arthur Melo after Julian Alvarez equalized in the first half.

Tsimikas didn’t respond to the Spaniard’s provocation and has since revealed what Guardiola told him afterwards.

Speaking to the Gazetta, the Liverpool left-back explained: “He said to me, ‘I’m sorry, I didn’t do it to offend you. “‘I did it because we scored a really good goal.'”

“I don’t know how Tsimikas didn’t push him out of there!” ?
Pep Guardiola didn’t hold back during his celebrations in front of the Liverpool players… ?
?? @rioferdy5 pic.twitter.com/d5v9oS6eiu

— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) April 1, 2023

Tsimikas added that he joked: “I told him I’d do worse things if we scored for you, so there’s no problem.”

After the match, Guardiola was criticized for his behavior during the press conference and responded with sarcasm.
‘No come on. I’m so sorry,” the manager said.

“Talk to Tsimikas, talk to the others. Ask him if I’m being disrespectful. I’m celebrating the goal with my son at the [upper tier].

“And I said, ‘The gate was beautiful, wasn’t it?'” That’s all. I am very sorry. Do you think it’s a lack of respect? Oh okay, sorry. I am very sorry.”

While Tsimikas showed little emotion in front of the Man City boss, Arthur merely smiled back.

It was one of only three games Arthur has been in the Liverpool squad since October, but he hasn’t been called up and is now likely to return to Juventus without having played a single minute of football. in the Premier League.

Tsimikas wrote the Liverpool history books last season when he scored the winning penalty against Chelsea in the FA Cup final.

However, he hasn’t carried that momentum with him this season and is expected to finish the season with almost 500 minutes less playing time than last time out.

Also..

Why Liverpool would qualify for the Champions League with a fifth-place result in light of an upcoming UEFA rule change

Why fifth-place finish would see Liverpool qualify for Champions League after upcoming UEFA rule change

Because a fifth-place finish would mean Liverpool would qualify for the Champions League after UEFA’s upcoming rules change

The current Champions League format will be revamped from the 2024/25 season and could have a major impact on Liverpool and other English clubs.

The controversial format will see the competition expand from 32 clubs to 36, doing away with the traditional group stage.
Each of the 36 qualified teams will play eight matches each, with four at home and four away.

Teams that place between first and eighth in the new competitive stage automatically qualify for the last 16 stages. Meanwhile, the ninth to 24th-placed sides will compete in a two-legged play-off to determine which eight other clubs will be involved in the round of 16. From then on, the knockout stages are unchanged from the current format, with the remaining teams battling it out to lift the Champions League trophy.

Along with the new format, UEFA have another major change coming which could have a major impact on English clubs.

New UEFA rule benefits Liverpool and other clubs

Additional places for the new Champions League will be allocated to the two most successful European nations of the past season using the UEFA coefficient system.

Additionally, the fifth-placed nation gets another place in the UEFA rankings.

If the new rules are enforced for next season, England and Italy would earn an additional Champions League spot, with clubs from both nations performing best in the current 2022/23 season. In the case of England, therefore, the team that finished fifth in the Premier League – currently Liverpool – would secure a place in the competition despite not having finished in the top four.

Unfortunately for the Reds or whichever club is fifth this season, the extra spot will only be awarded based on next season’s coefficient rankings long before the new format begins.

But it’s certainly a fallback option for clubs that don’t finish in the top four – as long as English clubs continue to perform well in Europe.