Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola couldn’t resist a dig at rivals Manchester United following their Carabao Cup triumph on Sunday. He mocked their success as something that should be ‘normal‘ for them.
Manchester United won its first trophy since 2017 with a 2-0 victory over Newcastle United in the EFL Cup final at Wembley Stadium on Sunday.
Casemiro scored the first goal in the 33rd minute, heading home a freekick from Luke Shaw. Marcus Rashford added a second goal six minutes later, thanks to a Sven Botman deflection that eluded Newcastle goalkeeper Loris Karius’ clutches.
Manchester United’s previous title came in 2017 when they won the Europa League under Jose Mourinho. Since then, they have come close to winning some, such as finishing second in the 2019-20 season and losing the Europa League final on penalties to Villareal in 2021. Other than these near calls, they have been mainly underwhelming for a team of their caliber.
Pep however still found a way to make fun of their rivals across the pond. United is still in contention for three more trophies, the FA Cup, Europa League, and Premier League.
According to Metro UK, when asked whether they can challenge consistently for the Premier League following their recent title win, Pep took a shot at them saying, “If they spend a little more money, yes, because they didn’t spend, isn’t it?”.
He added, “They’re in the position they normally should be.”
Pep Guardiola's response to whether Man United can consistently challenge for the title 👀💰 pic.twitter.com/pB5gyd1gHq
— ESPN UK (@ESPNUK) February 28, 2023
The statements are a reference to Manchester United’s heavy spending in recent years, such as the high value transfers of Jadon Sancho, Casemiro, Harry Maguire, Antony, and Lisandro Martinez.
Despite all these transfers and more, Manchester United couldn’t have much success. Manchester City is regularly accused of overspending on transfers but they have been very successful compared to United. Pep took all of these in account and the joke served another entertaining press conference of his.
