Man City manager Pep Guardiola reacts to joke from Liverpool boss

“Maybe Mo knows more”

Liverpool manager Arne Slot was asked about Mohamed Salah’s thinly-veiled post-match comments.

The Dutchman chose to dismiss the question with a joke about Manchester City’s pending “115 charges” case that was brought against them by the Premier League in February 2023.

“Maybe Mo knows more about the 115 acquisitions (charges) so expects them not to be there in the Premier League next season,” Slot said with a smile to the assembled media in a post-match press conference.

He then quickly added that he was joking and that does not have anything else to say about Salah’s contract situation.

“The boring answer is always the same. This is not the place for me to talk about Mo's contract. It was a joke. I repeat, it was a joke,” said the Dutch manager.

Pep responds: “It was a joke”

In typical English media fashion, Slots comments were one of the first things journalists asked Pep Guardiola about at the Spaniard’s press conference on Tuesday ahead of City’s Matchweek 14 fixture against Nottingham Forest.

Not taking the bait from the press, Guardiola responded bluntly, saying “It was a joke.”

“He said it was a joke, right? It was a joke,” Guardiola said.

He then refused to talk about Slot’s comments any further.

Pep was also asked about his holding six fingers up to Liverpool fans and whether he “lost his cool” at Anfield last weekend.

“We won six, yeah. I was never cool. Do you know why I was cool? Because we won. If you ever win, it’s so cool, it’s so handsome, it’s so nice. When you don’t win it’s completely the opposite. But it’s the same,” he replied.

“115 charges” case decision looming

While Slot was jovial and joking about Manchester City’s 115 charges case, Guardiola’s surly attitude about it this week is far more representative of the general feeling in England about the issue right now.

The independent panel hearing the Premier League’s case against Man City is set to announce its decision sometime early next year.

Until that ruling is released, the rest of the Premier League is on pins and needles waiting for the outcome.

A damning verdict against Man City could see them relegated to the Championship and even stripped of their Premier League titles.

Because of the uncertainty, many EPL betting sites have Man City as one of top ten most likely teams to be relegated this season.

Conclusion

Some soccer betting outfits put the Sky Blues odds of going down even lower. PlayUp, for example, has Man City as the sixth-most likely team to be relegated this season, with $11 odds of going down.