Leeds United battled back from 2-0 down at Manchester City to get back to 2-2, but a stoppage time winner from Phil Foden means Daniel Farke's men remain in the relegation zone
Daniel Farke was furious with some of City's gamesmanship
Daniel Farke was furious with some of City's gamesmanship(Image: 2025 Getty Images)
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Daniel Farke admits he would never resort to the same gamesmanship as Pep Guardiola in a bid to win matches.
Guardiola produced a masterstroke in the second half of Manchester City's clash with Leeds, calling his entire team over to the sidelines for a Pep talk when Gianluigi Donnarumma had gone down with a mystery injury. The dubious tactic worked, with City regrouping from blowing a two goal lead, to win the match in stoppage time thanks to Phil Foden.
But Farke was not impressed - and called on the authorities to stamp out managers like Guardiola getting an unfair advantage.
Farke said: "It is within the rules. It is smart. I asked the fourth official at this point if he wanted to do something and he said ‘No, our hands are tied, we can’t do anything’.
"If we don’t educate our players in football, what to do in terms of fair play, sportsmanship, if you just try to bend the rules to your advantage and you can do a fake injury in order to do an additional team talk, it is nothing that I personally like.
"But if it is within the rules, I can't complain about it. I think we should think about how we can deal with it. Probably we have to change the rules.
"The goalkeeper knows. There is a reason why the goalkeeper goes down, and not an outfield player.
"It is not a question for myself. I'm a Premier League manager. It's not a topic for me, but for the authorities to find a solution."
Guardiola said he had believed Donnarumma’s injury was genuine, instructing James Trafford to warm up in case he was required.
“I didn’t speak with Gigio,” he said. “When it happened I looked back to the dugout and said ‘James, warm up’. I don’t know. Next press conference you can ask me and I will ask Gigio.”
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