Pep Guardiola 'was close to bursting into tears' after Man City's dreadful defeat to Tottenham
WATCH NOW: Sports round-up as Man City crash to nightmare Tottenham defeat
Pep Guardiola was close to bursting into tears during Manchester City's catastrophic 4-0 defeat to Tottenham on Saturday.
That's according to body language expert Darren Stanton, who believes the Spaniard was left in a state of shock following the surprising result at the Etihad Stadium.
City went into their clash with Spurs hoping to end a dismal run of form that had seen them lose all four of their previous matches.
But that dreadful record was extended instead, with Tottenham running out 4-0 winners courtesy of a brace from James Maddison and further goals from Pedro Porro and Brennan Johnson.
Man City news: A body language expert believes Pep Guardiola was close to bursting into tears during Saturday night's dreadful defeat to Tottenham
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Guardiola, who recently signed a new contract as City boss, has been widely scrutinised since the result.
And Stanton, speaking to OLBG, believes the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich manager was close to crying as his side crashed to defeat.
“I think the inner emotion is basically disbelief," he said.
"If you look at the hand-to-mouth gestures, it’s like hearing some horrific news such as a bereavement of a tragedy.
"The fact he covers his whole face shows he truly is in shock.”
On a close up of Guardiola’s eyes, Stanton added: “He’s got sadness, more than any other emotion.
"In the past he’s flashed expressions of anger but if you look tight on his eyes it can almost look like he’s ready to burst into tears.
“He’s masking that emotion quite well otherwise. He gives a little laugh but that’s a self-assurance gesture — what we call a masking smile, which is not a genuine smile.
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“We also have the emotion of shame coming in.
"When we dip or bow our heads, and he spends the majority of the interview bowing his head down to the right, and that's a shame. He is carrying a lot of this on his own shoulders.
“In previous interviews we’ve seen him place liability on to his own players with some anger coming in but for this he is internalising the situation.”
The result means City remain second in the league, five points behind Liverpool at the top of the table.
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But the Reds could extend their lead by a further three points if they get the better of Southampton on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Gary Neville believes City are 'in decline' under Guardiola following the loss - and that Guardiola is struggling to turn things around.
"We've seen City lose the odd game here, but we've very rarely seen them outplayed in every department, but that's what we're watching," said the Sky Sports pundit.
"They look well short. As short as I've seen them since Pep's first season.
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"I've not seen them as bad as this, how they've been in the last few weeks.
"He will have wanted that international break to come, thinking it would be a reset moment. But now here, it further entrenches the opinion this is a City side currently in decline.
"It seems madness, when you think about what they've achieved.
"They're easy to play against and teams are encouraged when playing them. The vulnerabilities are clear for everyone to see."
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