Manchester United vs Manchester City: Pep Guardiola hits back at Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's 'fouls' claim

Pep Guardiola has taken exception to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s claim that Manchester City are likely to tactically foul his Manchester United players on Wednesday night.

City travel to Old Trafford for the 178th Manchester derby and must beat an out-of-form United in order to keep their Premier League title defence on track.

Solskjaer, meanwhile, hopes to turn around a worrying run of form which has seen his side lose six of their last eight games.

The Norwegian claimed on Tuesday that his players would have to be wary of City’s “aggression”, suggesting they could kill United counters with cynical play.

“They will snap at your ankles and heels and kick you,” Solskjaer said at his pre-match press conference. “They are not going to allow us easy counter attacking because there will be fouls, I have absolutely no doubt about it.”

“It’s up to us to play through that press, be ready enough, play one and two-touch, don’t give them time. If you spend two or three touches… it’s not my decision, it’s the referee’s responsibility to do that.”

When Solskjaer’s comments were put to Guardiola later the same day, the City manager appeared visibly shocked.

“So we are going to make fouls to them?” he asked incredulously. “Did he say that? With an average of 65 per cent or 75 per cent [possession] with the ball, how do you do that?

“I never prepare a game in 10 seasons as a manager thinking about these kind of things. Never,” Guardiola insisted. “The players can talk about it better than me about that, the players I had at Barcelona, Bayern Munich and here.

“Never have I said [to] one player to make fouls to avoid something for the other ones. Football sometimes you do that, because football, the actions is quick, fast.

“But I’m concerned about many, many other things about the game [we] have to play to beat them [rather] than these kind of things, so I don’t know. Maybe tomorrow in the press conference after the game you can ask him again about that.”

Jose Mourinho, Solskjaer’s predecessor at United, directly accused Guardiola of instructing his players to cynically foul opponents before the corresponding fixture last season.

Solskjaer was less accusatory, focusing also on City’s ability to press the opposition high up the pitch, though appeared to suggest that Guardiola would use fouls as a part of a defensive set-up to stem United’s attacks.

When asked whether he was offended by Solskjaer’s insinuation, Guardiola said: “I don’t like it. I don’t like it. No. My team is not built [to] think and create for that, not at all.

“I know exactly what I said to my players from day one to the last day. When a player wants to attack, we have to be honest and of course there is contact, there are fouls.

“But when it happens and you arrive late, that is why there are referees, to make yellow cards or red cards or whatever they decide.”

Guardiola added: “We want to do our game. Sometimes it’s not possible. Sometimes it’s difficult to understand that, but the other teams play too. But never, never [instruct players to make fouls].

“I prepare the game to do our own game, that is what I want, knowing of course the opponent, but I never said I’m going to do that to punish them or cancel them [by] making fouls. Never.”

Guardiola also expressed concern that Solskjaer’s comments could influence a referee but refused to speak about the officials at length, for fear of punishment by the Football Association.

City have committed 8.6 fouls per game this season, the fewest of any top-flight club, though as Guardiola notes their possession-based style of play helps to keep this figure down.

United, by contrast, have committed 11.6 fouls per game during the current campaign – the second most in the Premier League – though this figure stands at 10.8 during Solskjaer’s reign.