Guardiola apologizes to Jesus after Mahrez’s penalty miss

CAIRO – 8 October 2018: Manchester City manager, Pep Guardiola, apologized to the team Brazilian striker, Gabriel Jesus, after the manager chose Algerian winger, Riyad Mahrez, to take the penalty kick in the game against Liverpool.

Jesus wanted to take the penalty but the manager picked the Algerian who missed the penalty 7 minutes before the final whistle.



“Jesus wanted to take it. I apologize to him, it was my decision,” Guardiola said after the game.

Manchester City returned from Liverpool with a goalless draw and both teams kept their positions on top of the League table alongside Chelsea with 20 points each.



Guardiola added, “During the training sessions, every day I see Mahrez taking the penalties and it gave me a lot of confidence. It will be a good experience for him, next time it will go in.”

Mahrez does not have a good record in penalties as he missed four out of his previous seven attempts from 12-yards.

Jesus commented on the incident, saying “Pep spoke with me. This is part of football; sometimes these things happen. I will support Riyad if the manager chooses him again."

Mahrez joined Man City last summer from Leicester City for $78 million and since then he established himself as one of the key players at the team.