Guardiola and Mourinho have both spoken up about ‘Milk-gate’. Here’s what they said

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola and his Manchester United counterpart Jose Mourinho have both spoken out about the dressing-room fight that broke out between players of the two clubs following the derby on Sunday.

Following City’s 2-1 win that pushed them 11 points above their neighbours and title rivals, there were reports of a mass brawl involving up to 20 players and members of staff from the two clubs in and outside the away dressing room at Old Trafford.

Both managers were addressing mandatory press conferences ahead of their respective midweek Premier League fixtures. While Guardiola initially said he did not want to comment about the incident, the Spaniard later opened up a bit.

Guardiola said he did not think his players and staff had crossed the line in terms of their celebrations in the away dressing room, as claimed by Mourinho. “We won a derby. What do people expect, we don’t celebrate?” Guardiola said, as reported by The Daily Mirror.

“We won a derby against Manchester United, one of the best rivals we have. We celebrated. I think if United win a derby, they celebrate. But where? Inside the locker room. That’s what we tried to do and we did.

“We were inside, it is normal. We didn’t do anything exceptional, we did what we did in the past and what we will do in the future.”

Mourinho too was hesitant on speaking up about the incident. When told that Guardiola had talked about it during his press conference, Mourinho said, “He says, he says. I’m not here to comment on his words.

“The only thing I can say is that for me was just a question of diversity – diversity in behaviours, diversity in education. Just that and nothing more than that.”

England’s Football Association has demanded answers from both clubs following reports of ugly scenes that reportedly left City assistant coach Mikel Arteta bloodied after a fracas. The Guardian newspaper said Arteta was left with blood streaming down his face after the bust-up.

Referee Michael Oliver did not witness the scenes so the FA has not received a report on the matter from him but it has given the clubs until Wednesday to reply to a request for observations following the incident.

Mourinho and City goalkeeper Ederson are reported to have had a confrontation after the game, while it is claimed the United manager had milk and water thrown at him from the away dressing room. The home side are understood to have taken exception to City’s post-match celebrations.

The corridor leading to the dressing rooms apparently became congested as players and staff made their way through it after the game, and tensions spilled over into pushing and shoving.

Mourinho had earlier accused City’s players of diving and committing “tactical fouls” prior to the game and afterwards made an unconvincing claim his side should have been awarded a late penalty when Ander Herrera was booked for diving.

But Guardiola had responded: “We won because we were better. In all departments, we were better.”

With inputs from AFP