Pep Guardiola fury as touchline meltdown lands him two-game ban

City have reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup every season since 2018. In the last four years their record in the competition is 19 wins in 21 games, with those two defeats coming in the final against Manchester United and Crystal Palace. It is not like anything we have seen before. Guardiola said he was extremely proud of that record, but still the perceived injustice gnawed away at him. He remained in a volatile mood. It was his sixth yellow card of the season, but none have provoked a reaction as strong or as perilously close to losing control as this.

Guardiola is a ferocious competitor and apparently no longer cares who he offends. Read into that what you will regarding his future beyond the end of this season. While the rest of English football complains about the fact the 115 charges against City for breaching PSR rules have still not been resolved, he seethes at a perceived injustice of a different kind.

Guardiola made his feelings clear. For all his success, for all the trophies he has won and the dominance of English football he has overseen, he believes it has been done despite dark forces conspiring against him and his players. It has become a recurring theme in his dealings with the media.

Asked what had annoyed him so much, Guardiola replied: “When Jeremy Doku dribbles [Kieran] Trippier and goes alone to the box and is being pulled from behind, I’m not asking for a yellow card but it’s a foul.

“I will defend my team. I will tell you something – we have all the records in this country, all of them, despite everything. We have the record of the manager with the most yellow cards.

“I want all records and now I have it. Two-game ban now and I will go on holidays the next two games. Oh my god. Oh my god. There are things after 10 years I cannot understand. Review the action. Of course I’m going to defend Doku and all my teams. They continue to do it…”

It all felt a little bizarre given the result. Despite falling behind in the first half to Harvey Barnes’ fine goal, which capped an excellent opening 20-minute spell, City moved through the gears and toyed with Newcastle after equalising through Savinho. The second half was one-way traffic as two goals from Marmoush hammered home City’s superiority.