Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has hit back at Liverpool fans after chants of “you’re getting sacked in the morning” rang around Anfield this past weekend.
Not unlike this spell of seven games without a win – now six defeats and one draw – Guardiola has never really had those chants pointed in his direction before given that he’s one of the most successful managers in history, and it’s clear he was just as taken aback as those watching were.
The 2-0 loss to his title rivals marked four straight league defeats for the first time in Pep’s entire career and City‘s worst run since 2008, when the club was first bought by the Abu Dhabi United Group.
With that in mind, the home crowd certainly had fun at the Spaniard’s expense, and after the chanting continued, he was happy to respond with the facts both on the pitch and in the presser.
Having reminded the Kop End and co. of his time in England thus far, Guardiola went on to reiterate in his post-match press conference: “I’m so proud of my six Premier Leagues against that team and the previous team [under Jürgen Klopp].
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While he applauded Arne Slot’s side for their performance, recognising that a trip to Merseyside is always difficult, he didn’t expect to hear the kind of chanting he did after conceding the second goal, and with time still to play against what is still one of the best teams in world football.
“Maybe I deserved to be sacked with our results! Maybe I’m still in the job because I won six Premier Leagues and a lot of titles. They want to sack me. I wish they were more kind. Why didn’t they do it at 0-1? Why didn’t they do it last season when we won the league? Why do they want to sack me now?
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“I didn’t expect that from Anfield, for other clubs like Brighton I can understand it, but for Anfield, I didn’t expect this, maybe it is the [level of] respect we have. They know we have won six Premier Leagues. But it’s fine, it’s part of the game.”
🗣️ "I'm so proud of my six Premier Leagues against that team"
Pep Guardiola reacts after some Liverpool fans were heard chanting that he will be getting 'sacked in the morning' 🔹 pic.twitter.com/nMkFTx4b76
In a similar vein, replacement keeper Stefan Ortega (who stepped in for out-of-form Ederson) also said he had been told that the “area [Liverpool] is probably not the best part in the UK” and that his manager responded well to the taunting overall.
Meanwhile, as well as some much-needed levity and sarcasm, the 53-year-old did insist that his years in Manchester have “probably been the best of my life” and that he just wants his team back in their “prime” – we’re sure it won’t be long before we see the familiar City we’re all used to.
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In fact, some interpreted Pep’s specific reaction after the full-time whistle as equal parts playful banter and actually admiring Anfield for the atmosphere its supporters create, having criticised the Etihad Stadium for a lack of noise more than once.
We’re not so sure but you can decide for yourself.
We had a good laugh today but I liked this from Guardiola. Had some fierce battles over the years but he's always been respectful of Liverpool and you can see how much he admires Anfield. https://t.co/qkZpb6POgB
With a promising Nottingham Forest team coming up on Wednesday – not to mention Forest being the only team to have beaten Liverpool in the Prem so far this season – the Catalan coach won’t just be hoping for a defiant home crowd but a desperately needed win if they are to stay in the race.
One thing is for sure, if Pep thinks these ‘sacked in the morning’ chants will be limited to Liverpool, he’s got another thing coming if they go even a goal down in the next game.
Do you think Pep deserves more respect as he suggested, or is behaviour like this completely fair game during derbies and title races?
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You can watch his press conference in full down below:
Featured Images — Viaplay/Sky Sports (screenshots via YouTube)
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The stats behind World Darts Champion Luke Littler’s brilliant year (and a bit) are quite staggering
Danny Jones
Yes, he’s done it: the still-teenaged Luke Littler is officially a World Darts Champion and although we all saw it coming, the stats behind his meteoric rise are, frankly, ridiculous.
As if becoming the youngest-ever player to ever win the 2025 PDC World Darts Championships at just 17 wasn’t impressive enough, his pathway, previous victories and numerous accolades leading up to this point really put things into perspective.
Oddly enough, he almost seemed destined to get his hands on the trophy the moment he fell just short in last year’s final against current world number one Luke Humphries.
Here are the numbers to prove it:
Luke Littler's ridiculous last 13 months completes one of the most insane sporting stories ever, let alone in darts.
🏆 Youngest world champion (by 7 years!) 🏆 Premier League & Grand Slam 🏆 11 total titles 📈 World no 2 (from 164) 🤑 £1.5m total prize money
As put together by Sporting Life journalist Chris Hammer, when the already long list of achievements in just his first year and a bit as a professional on the senior circuit is laid out in front of you like that, it really does feel like it was always going to happen, doesn’t it?
But this doesn’t even quite tell the full story.
Even before he won his first PDC title on the pro tour at the Bahrain Masters back in January, the Warrington-born teen had already won the senior Irish Open back in 2021 when he was just 14. Let us repeat that: 14 years old.
Going back even further, he’s been dominating the youth circuit for some time too – most notably becoming the first player in JDC (Junior Darts Corporation) history to win back-to-back World Championship titles in 2022 and ’23.
The trend of consecutive successes has only increased as time has gone on and now the youngster has won a trio of darts majors with a Grand Slam, World Series and Premier League title, not to mention two Masters tournaments and a pair of PDC Opens, winning the rest feels like a mere certainty.
The consistency behind his stats and level of averages alone are rather frightening and as the cherry on top of the Sid Waddell Trophy, Luke Littler also won the win the Ballon D’Art trophy after hitting 79 maximums – though Michael Smith does still hold the record for most 180s in a tournament (83).
LITTLER IS THE WORLD CHAMPION! 🏆
LUKE LITTLER ACHIEVES HIS DARTING DESTINY!
The 17-year-old sensation produces a spectacular display to defeat Michael van Gerwen 7-3 and create more history at Alexandra Palace!
Not to play on anyone’s inferiority complex here or force them to look back at what they were up to at his age either but, as detailed above, Littler‘s first-place prize of £500,000 has just seen him rack up more than £1.5 million in total earnings over the past 13 months since his pro debut.
But it doesn’t stop there…
As per The Telegraph, top players in the sport typically earn around £350,000 a year in shirt sales and other merchandising opportunities; he also stands to earn even more away from the board than he already does from personal dart sets once he turns 18 and betting sponsors inevitably come knocking.
Featured Images — Sky Sports (screenshot via YouTube)
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Manchester city centre gym forced to close for repairs following New Year’s Eve flooding
Danny Jones
A city centre gym has been forced into temporary closure after it was flooded following heavy rainfall on Greater Manchester on New Year’s Eve.
While lots of people were toasting the end of 2024 earlier this week, many other residents and local businesses woke up to a less-than-ideal way to start the new year as flooding plagued the likes of Stockport, Altrincham, Bolton, central Manchester and more.
A whole section of the Bridgewater Canal over in Dunham Massey, Cheshire and here in the city centre, the flow caused various sections bits of waterside path to disappear completely underwater.
Naturally, being a very canal-centric district, Castlefield ended up being one of the most heavily affected areas and, unfortunately, The Y Club gym and health centre saw much of their facilities flooded and have had to close for drainage and repairs.
The gym and health club said in a lengthy post on social media: “Overnight, the Y Club was impacted by severe flooding, which has affected the ground floor, including the swimming pool, changing rooms, gym and fives courts.
“This is devastating news for our staff, members, and the entire Y Club community. Our immediate priority is to address the situation and begin the process of reopening the affected areas. The floodwaters will need to subside before we can safely begin repairs and restoration efforts.”
Explaining that various rooms will be out of action for a more significant period, they have made plans to relocate the majority of their gym equipment into the sports hall – mostly unscathed in comparison – to allow for gym members to still make use of the facilities.
The message on Instagram goes on to read: “As a result of this, the Y Club will remain closed until Wednesday, 7 January. We will continue to provide updates on when specific areas of the club will be ready to reopen.
“We understand how important the Y Club community is to all of you, and we share in your frustration. Please know that we are working tirelessly behind the scenes to restore the club and get things back to normal as soon as possible.”
“Any questions you may have please contact the club via email [at] [email protected]. Thank you for your patience and support during this challenging time.”
We’re sure we speak for everyone when we say we hope they get back on their feet in time to reopen properly next week and that the damage/repairs aren’t too costly.
Y Club is located right next door to the Castlefield Hotel and although the two Liverpool Road buildings are attached, there has luckily been no word of flooding in the latter as yet.
The gym was the only popular Manchester destination to have been hit with the watery scenes either, as student favourite bar and nightclub Joshua Brooks was forced to close on New Year’s Eve after their basement room – which sits precariously just above the canal – unfortunately flooded as well.
Danny Jones -
2nd December 2024 
