- Stefan Ortega claims Liverpool is "not the best part of the UK"
- Reds fans chanted at Pep Guardiola during 2-0 win at Anfield
- Man City now 11 points behind in Premier League title race
Manchester City goalkeeper Stefan Ortega responded with a nasty dig at the city of Liverpool after manager Pep Guardiola was taunted with sack chants during their 2-0 defeat at Anfield on Sunday.
Goals from Cody Gakpo and Mohamed Salah ensured the Reds took a nine-point lead in the Premier League title race, all but wiping out City's chances of retaining their crown as their winless run extended to seven games in all competitions.
Reds supporters were evidently aware of the Cityzens' poor recent run, targeting the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss as cries of "sacked in the morning" rang around the Merseyside stadium. Guardiola was then spotted holding up six fingers to the crowd in reference to the amount of Premier League titles he has won and later admitted he was surprised to hear the chanting.
Ortega, who was brought into the starting XI at Ederson's expense in an attempt to stop City's recent rot, then made an unnecessary remark about the city which hosted Sunday's fixture and backed his manager's response to the chants.
The goalkeeper said: "Someone told me before that this area is probably not the best part of the UK. Yeah, I think the manager reacted really well."
Guardiola had previously responded: "All the stadiums want to sack me, it started at Brighton. Maybe they are right with the results we've been having. I didn't expect that at Anfield. They didn't do it at 1-0, but at 2-0. Maybe they should have sung it in the past.
"I didn't expect it from the people from Liverpool, but it's fine, it's part of the game, and I understand completely. We've had incredible battles together. I have a respect for them.
"I am here sitting as a manager and defending what we have done in the past thanks to [the City players] and more than ever I want to be with them and hug them."
