FANS are sure Pep Guardiola forgot he was not a player after he went on the pitch during Manchester City’s clash with Ipswich Town.
The manager was spotted out of his technical area by some distance in the 20th minute.
The Spaniard was trying to direct his players but appeared to lose his baring as he wandered onto the pitch.
The ball was still in play as it approached Guardiola a good few yards in from the touchline.
Fans reacted to the moment on social media, and many made the same joke.
One posted: “Pep Guardiola probably forgot that he’s the coach – not a player.”
A second wrote: “He’s tired of the Rodri transfer rumours and probably wants to replace him himself.”
A third commented: “And where is Guardiola going?? haha.”
A fourth said: “Guardiola accidentally walked into the pitch while giving orders to his players mid-game.”
Another added: “Guardiola wanted to roll back to his Barcelona years.”
CASINO SPECIAL – BEST CASINO WELCOME OFFERS
Man City were rocked in the opening stages as Sammie Szmodics netted the opener for Ipswich in the 7th minute.
However, normal service resumed for the current title-holders as Erling Haaland levelled the score five minutes later.
TOP FOUR
ARSENAL, MANCHESTER CITY, LIVERPOOL and TOTTENHAM — and I’ve got a really strong feeling for Arsenal this season. A few of Man City’s star players are getting a bit older. There’s been nothing between the two teams over the past two years.
RELEGATION
EVERTON (18th), SOUTHAMPTON (19th), LEICESTER (20th) — I like Sean Dyche and Everton are a great club with brilliant, knowledgeable fans. They’re just badly run. They need to go down to rebuild to come back again. But the key is new owners.
TOP SCORER
ERLING HAALAND — I can’t see anyone taking his crown off him. He’s a goal machine, isn’t he? If I can get him at evens, I might lump on!
MOST ASSISTS
MARTIN ODEGAARD — He’ll be the catalyst for Arsenal’s surge to the title. I can see it now. He’s a superb player and he makes it look so easy.
CARABAO CUP
TOTTENHAM — Ange Postecoglou will break Spurs’ trophy curse. Most big teams will mess about with this trophy, but Tottenham will go full steam.
FA CUP
LIVERPOOL — I fancy Arne Slot to stamp his mark on English football quickly and there’s few better ways to do it than lifting this famous old trophy.
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
REAL MADRID — Carlo Ancelotti is bullish about their chances. He has said that with Kylian Mbappe, it’s the best team they’ve had for a long time.
EUROPA LEAGUE
MANCHESTER UNITED — Clubs seem to have stopped sneering at this competition. And Spurs and United should be going both barrels for it.
CONFERENCE LEAGUE
CHELSEA — The Luxembourg champions could be dangerous! Joking aside, the Blues must win it.
Kevin de Bruyne then put the hosts ahead in the 14th minute.
Haaland then gave Man City a buffer as he scored his side’s third in the two minutes later.
Haaland then completed his 10th hat-trick for City to seal a 4-1 win against the newly-promoted side.
The result leaves Guardiola’s side with a perfect start to the season following their opening-day win over Chelsea.
NOTHING stays the same forever.
And that includes the Premier League, which is making a number of tweaks this season.
Team news will now be released 75 MINUTES before kick-off, 15 minutes earlier than had been the case before.
Things could get crowded on the touchline, with the number of substitutes permitted to warm-up boosted from three players per team to FIVE.
There’s also a change to how added time is calculated when a team scores a goal, an update to the ‘multiball’ system and the introduction of semi-automated offsides – but not straight away.
Go here to read about all the changes to the Premier League for 2024/25.
