Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola was unhappy with Everton defender Yerry Mina for what he hinted were underhanded and unsportsmanlike tactics in their 3-0 win at Goodison Park.
The Colombia international was involved in a visible incident with Aymeric Laporte in a first-half corner kick in which the City centre-back slapped his opponent in the stomach following an altercation and Mina fell to the floor.
But at the final whistle, Guardiola confronted the Everton defender and remonstrated with him as he followed him off the field. All City players also refused to shake hands with Mina.
While Guardiola refused to say what Mina actually did, his displeasure seemed to focus on how the Colombian handled his opponents.
‘Mina? It’s not necessary what he does. Outside of football, there’s no need to do what he does every game,” Guardiola said.
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola was unhappy with Everton defender Yerry Mina
“And I said to him, ‘You’re a pretty good player to avoid that kind of stuff’.”
Asked to elaborate on his complaints, the City boss added: “He knows. Ask him. It’s not physical, it’s not mental.
“There are things he shouldn’t do. This time with Aymeric, Jack (Grealish), everyone. Ask him. Invite him to the press conference.
The row damaged the ease with which City dealt with Everton, with Ilkay Gundogan scoring twice for the second game either side of the obligatory goal – his 52nd of the season – from Erling Haaland.
Gundogan is out of contract this summer and has been linked with a move to Barcelona, but Guardiola is more than happy to captain the side, as he did at Goodison where he led with two superbly scored goals.
“He can show again and again and again the quality and the importance and his commitment, to all of us, to the club, not just by scoring goals, now he has his momentum,” said Guardiola, who wants the German international extends his stay. .
“He doesn’t talk a lot, but when he talks everyone listens and that’s the power of the leader. He shows his leadership in every training session – showing up on time, living his job 24 hours a day and playing the way he plays.
“He’s a player who, when he approaches the box, has an incredible sense of goal. He can play as a midfielder with no problems, he proved that years ago when Fernandinho s ‘is injured, he’s played in games like Burnley, long balls, you think you need a physical player, but he’s so smart and he’s a guy who handles pressure well.’
Everton manager Sean Dyche said he was not aware of any allegations against Mina and the player had not mentioned anything to him.
“If he did it all the time, I wouldn’t know where he saw it because he (Mina) hasn’t been on the pitch for weeks,” he said.
City’s 11th straight league victory puts them on a maximum of six points for a fifth title in six seasons.
They inflicted a league-record 10th home defeat of the season on Everton, who remain 17th and a point above Leeds, but striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s withdrawal at half-time is equally concerning.
While the England international has scored just one goal in five games since returning from two-and-a-half months with a hamstring injury, he has provided a much-needed focal point and performances have improved accordingly.
Dyche, who realistically needs to find a win from his remaining two matches against Wolves and Bournemouth, said he had withdrawn the injury-prone striker as a precaution.
“I had to make a call because he felt his groin and tight groins could lead to damaged groins,” he said.
“It would have been more difficult at 0-0 than at 2-0. He wanted to continue, but I said: ‘Dom, you’re leaving’.
On his team display, in which they didn’t bother City, he added: “A lot of the performance was fair against a top team, but you get punished if you make the slightest mistake.”
“We probably had the best luck with Mason Holgate (who missed a tough opportunity from close range at 0-0).
“There were outstanding performances, Dwight (McNeil) was exceptional, Doucs (Abdoulaye Doucoure), Conor (Coady) came in and affected him in a change of form (in 5-4-1).