Guardiola blames Carabao Cup ball

Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola has branded the ball used for the Carabao Cup match against Wolverhampton Wanderer’s as “unacceptable for a high-level competition.”

Argentine Sergio Aguero scored the decisive penalty following two saves by goalkeeper Claudio Bravo that ensured City's quarterfinal berth in the competetion, but Pep Guardiola was not happy with the Mitre ball used in Football league matches.

“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 added.

Guardiola insisted that one or two days of preparations with the ball does not matter simply because the quality of the ball is bad.