TOP STORIES - Manchester City: When Pep Guardiola loses his cool

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From Daily Mail. His eyes bulged, his face was contorted with rage and his fingers jabbed furiously at the air. Manchester City may have been thrashing RB Leipzig but Pep Guardiola was far from happy.

In the manager's view, Jack Grealish and Riyad Mahrez hadn't been tracking back enough and fulfilling their defensive responsibilities - and he wasn't going to let the matter lie.

Nobody would describe Guardiola as having a volcanic temper all the time but when a player doesn't meet his high standards he isn't shy of public confrontation.

That's precisely what happened during the second-half of City's bonkers 6-3 win on Wednesday night. £100million man Grealish and Mahrez were summoned to the touchline in turn and had the riot act read to them accompanied by some wild hand gestures.

Mahrez made an attempt to argue back but was summarily dismissed with an angry word, while Grealish was more supine and listened intently. Both were in no doubt as to where they'd been going wrong afterwards.

"We spoke in half-time about the way we have to do it and they didn't do it," Guardiola explained afterwards. "Fights happen."

He went on to offer a tactical explanation that Leipzig were luring City out of defensive positions before working the ball out wide to their quick players.

No doubt a similar point had been made - albeit in an angrier tone of voice - to Grealish and Mahrez. Track back or we're in trouble.

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Guardiola's anger even spilled into his post-match interview, with the City supporters also copping some flak from the Spaniard after 17,000 seats were left empty for their first European outing of the season.  

"We need the people, please, because we will be tired," he said. 

"I know the team from Ralph (Hasenhuttl) is quite similar, they way they play. They're so dangerous and it's a really important game.  So I invite all our people to come next Saturday at 3pm to watch."

It was a dig that some supporters called 'disappointing and 'uncalled for' as it was suggested the 50-year-old should concentrate his focus to matters on the pitch.

But they're far from the first targets Guardiola has lost his cool with inside the stadium and they don't necessarily even have to be in his team. One that sticks in many minds was Guardiola's bizarre attempt to praise Southampton's Nathan Redmond at the end of a City match in 2017.

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