‘It was my decision’: Pep Guardiola apologises to Gabriel Jesus for insisting Riyad Mahrez take penalty

Pep Guardiola apologised to Gabriel Jesus after refusing to let the Brazilian take a late penalty against Liverpool then watching Riyad Mahrez blast it over the crossbar.

Mahrez had missed four of has last seven Premier League penalties beforehand but Manchester City’s manager wanted the Algerian to take it when Liverpool defender Virgil Van Dijk conceded the 85th-minute penalty by fouling Leroy Sane, because he had been so impressed with his spot kicks in training.

Jesus had a little disagreement with Mahrez on the penalty spot but a message was sent from the touchline by Guardiola that summer signing Mahrez was to take it.

Read more: An afternoon that started with so much hope for Liverpool and Man City ends in relief – and despair

Working on the presumption Jesus, a second-half substitute for City’s main penalty taker Sergio Aguero, would have scored, the decision cost City two points and they ended the afternoon joint on points with Chelsea and Liverpool at the top of the Premier League table, ahead only on goal difference.

‘My decision’

“I apologised [to Jesus],” Guardiola admitted. “He wanted to take it. It was my decision. In training sessions I see [Mahrez] every day and he gives me a lot of confidence.”

It turned out to be a rare wrong call for Guardiola. Despite his training ground composure, Mahrez had missed four of his last penalties at Leicester City and has now missed one at City. The forward was feeling deflated after the match, team-mate John Stones said, and Guardiola strode on to the pitch to give the player a consoling hug when the final whistle had blown.

So a match Guardiola would likely have taken a point from before kick-off it ended as one they could have walked away from with three, with another two penalty shouts turned down — when the ball appeared to strike Sadio Mane’s hand and when Dejan Lovren appeared to have fouled Aguero in the first half — and Mahrez’s awful late miss.

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“It’s much easier to say it’s not a penalty if they don’t score,” Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said. “I watched it back. It’s very close. I think [Van Dijk] touched the ball a little bit but not enough. We’re lucky in that situation. We deserve it, as well, this bit of luck with the performance the boys showed today.”