Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has blamed the Carabao Cup ball for his side’s 0-0 result against Wolverhampton Wanderers. Manchester City went through after a penalty shootout, but couldn’t break down the Championship leaders in 120 minutes during their EFL Cup match Tuesday.
Carabao Cup ball
Guardiola has stated the ball used in the team’s Carabao Cup match was “unacceptable”. The Spaniard doesn’t feel the match ball was appropriate for a high-level football match.
The ball used for Carabao Cup matches is a Mitre brand ball, not the usual Nike ball used in the Premier League.
“It is not acceptable, the ball was unacceptable for a high-level competition,” Guardiola said.
“It is too light, it moves all over the place, it is not a good ball. It is impossible to score with a ball like that and I can say that because we won, I’m not making excuses.
“All of my players said: ‘What is that?’ I’m sorry Carabao Cup is not a serious ball for a serious competition. It’s [for] marketing, money, OK but it’s not acceptable – [it has] no weight, nothing.”
Guardiola has already stated the EFL Cup competition should be eliminated from the English football calendar. His team are fighting on three fronts, and Guardiola doesn’t want the added pressure of the Carabao Cup interfering.
Practice with the Carabao Cup Ball?
When asked if his Manchester City side had trained with the new ball, Guardiola continued his rant.
“One day or two days, but the ball is bad for one year or two years, it’s not acceptable. All the players complain,” he said.
“Maybe now people will understand why things are difficult in football – it’s so complicated in this competition. From tomorrow we have to focus again for the Premier League.
“In the first half we deserved to score one or two goals – we had chances in the first half but in the second half there were some counterattacks, they were so fast.”
Manchester City will travel to West Brom on Saturday in the Premier League.
