Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino says sorry to referee and Pep Guardiola for 'WTF' rant

Mauricio Pochettino has to be restrained at full-time by colleagues after Chelsea's 4-4 draw against Manchester City in November 2023.
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino has apologised to referee Anthony Taylor and to Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola for an angry rant featuring some colourful language following the teams' epic 4-4 draw at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.

The Blues levelled late an entertaining encounter thanks to a penalty from former City winger Cole Palmer, but Pochettino was furious as the final whistle sounded, believing his side were being denied one last attacking opportunity.

Pochettino raged at Taylor in a rant which was picked up by the Sky television cameras, with the Argentine clearly heard shouting "what the f**k?" at the match official.

He had to be restrained by two of his assistants and was booked by Taylor for his protests. And after the game, once he had calmed down, he said sorry for his actions.

"I need to apologise to Anthony and the officials," he said. "Because in this moment I feel Raheem [Sterling] can go through and in this moment I say 'What the...?'

"I deserve to be booked, I apologise but this type of behaviour is no good. I want to apologise to him also [Pep], I was focused on the action."

Pochettino and Guardiola did not shake hands after the game and in his post-match press conference, the City manager was also asked about the incident.

"It's not a problem," he said. "It's fine. The emotions happen to me sometimes. Completely fine."

The draw sees City return to the top of the Premier League, one point ahead of Arsenal in second.

Chelsea are 12 points back in 10th, but can take heart from another impressive performance after last Monday's 4-1 win at Tottenham.

The Blues are away to Newcastle when top-flight club football returns in a couple of weeks, with City at home to Liverpool following the international break.

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Chelsea are reportedly seeking a £500 million loan in order to continue buying players, despite an outlay of around £1 billion over the past year.

And Blues manager Mauricio Pochettino has revealed that the west London club have "already started to work" on January signings.

Here, a look at five centre-forwards Chelsea could target as the Blues seek an 'elite striker'.

Ben Hayward
Weekend editor

Ben Hayward is a European football writer and Tottenham Hotspur fan with over 15 years’ experience, he has covered games all over the world - including three World Cups, several Champions League finals, Euros, Copa America - and has spent much of that time in Spain. Ben speaks English and Spanish, currently dividing his time between Barcelona and London, covering all the big talking points of the weekend on FFT: he’s also written several list features and interviewed Guglielmo Vicario for the magazine.