Guardiola confronts Crystal Palace goalie after FA Cup loss

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 17/05/2025 (507 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

LONDON (AP) — Pep Guardiola confronted Crystal Palace goalkeeper Dean Henderson on the field after Manchester City’s shock FA Cup final loss on Saturday.

The City manager was unhappy about Henderson’s perceived time wasting during the match.

Guardiola was heated as he repeatedly approached Henderson after the final whistle at Wembley Stadium.

“Listen, he defend his position, we defend our position,” Guardiola said. “I understand in the last minutes (time wasting), but since the one or two minutes … he’s British. You know in English football you have to play.

“Everyone can do what they want. You have to score goals. We didn’t lose because Henderson was time wasting.”

Guardiola added: “In my teams I never tried (time wasting) because I try to play the game the people deserve to watch.”

Eberechi Eze scored the winner for Palace and Henderson was also a hero by saving Omar Marmoush’s first half penalty.

“We had a feeling it would be our day today,” Henderson said. “The manager got a gameplan and we executed it. We deserve this so much.”

He was also involved in a contentious moment earlier in the match when handling the ball outside the box to deny Erling Haaland a chance.

Guardiola refused to comment on the incident, but Palace manager Oliver Glasner was happy to.

Winnipeg Free Press | Newsletter

Mike McIntyre | On Sports

Thursdays

Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter.

Sign up for Mike McIntyre | On Sports

Sign Up

I consent to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies.

I consent to CASL agreement.

“I thought ‘Why you don’t kick the ball?’” he joked. “I had my fingers crossed that the VAR doesn’t intervene. Everything worked.”

___

James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson

___

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer