Pep Guardiola's animated chat with Ortega: City boss reveals what he told goalkeeper

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola revealed what he told his goalkeeper Stefan Ortega after their draw against Brentford on Tuesday, January 14. Ortega was unable to prevent Brentford from scoring the equaliser in stoppage time.

In Short

• City were held to a 2-2 draw by Brentford
• Guardiola said he was talking to Ortega about his performance
• Guardiola rued the players City were missing during the match against Brentford

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola revealed what he told goalkeeper Stefan Ortega during their animated chat after the draw against Brentford in the Premier League on Wednesday, January 15. Ortega had got a strong hand on to Christian Norgaard's header in stoppage time, but was unable to stop the ball from going into the net as Brentford completed an incredible turnaround.

After the draw, Guardiola was seen in a heated and animated chat with his goalkeeper. While at first it seemed like he was unhappy with Ortega, he went on to hug the City shotstopper afterwards. Speaking after the match, as quoted by Reuters, Guardiola explained that he was telling Ortega that how good he was in actions with the ball, and his happiness with his performance.

"I said how good he played in actions with the ball, how good his pass (was) to Erling (Haaland), how happy and satisfied I am," said Guardiola.

Guardiola rues missing players after Brentford draw

Speaking after the game, Guardiola rued the fact that City were missing key defensive players like Ruben Dias, Rodri and John Stones. Brentford fought till the very end in the game despite being 2-0 down and were able to turn things around in the last quarter for the match.

Guardiola said that his side were unable to defend the crosses into the box.

"We have another type of player right now, and in the end we could not defend that situation," Guardiola told a press conference.

"They put six, seven players in the box, crosses, and sometimes they are better, so there are more players, they are taller, they are stronger in (heading)," he added.

Guardiola also said that his side were unable to make the right decisions in the final third and gave credit to Brentford for their performance.

"What I missed today especially was that we didn't take the right decision in the final third, in the actions where we could run, long balls we won and we could run, and in that moment we didn't take the right decisions," Guardiola said.

"I give credit to them, Brentford has always been a really, really tough opponent ... they are an honest team, they are a generous team, I like the way they play, but today we created a lot."

City's next match will see them face Ipswich Town on Sunday, January 19.