'pathetic baby' - pep guardiola sent strong verdict over dean henderson clash

MANCHESTER CITY MANAGER PEP GUARDIOLA HAS FACED CRITICISM FOLLOWING A CONFRONTATION WITH CRYSTAL PALACE GOALKEEPER DEAN HENDERSON AFTER HIS TEAM'S DEFEAT IN THE FA CUP FINAL 16:02, 20

May 2025 Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has been slammed as "a baby" and labelled "pathetic" following a heated exchange with Crystal Palace goalkeeper Dean

Henderson. The pair were involved in a tense confrontation at full-time in the FA Cup final at Wembley, where City were stunned by a 1-0 defeat. Henderson proved pivotal for Palace as they

claimed their first major trophy in their history, making a vital penalty save and numerous key stops following Eberechi Eze's early strike. Controversy arose when Henderson seemed to

handle the ball outside his area in the first half but avoided dismissal after a review from VAR. The tension escalated post-match as a visibly irate Guardiola approached Henderson over

claims of him time-wasting, resulting in a clash that had to be defused by others. During the fracas, Guardiola was observed gesturing towards Henderson who then proceeded to join his

teammates in celebrations. Ex-Manchester United and Wrexham keeper Ben Foster has now criticised the Catalan manager on his Fozcast podcast. He said: "At the end of the game at full

time, Pep Guardiola came on the pitch, and I think he was a bit of a baby. It's pathetic, though. It's the FA Cup final and what does he expect Dean Henderson to do?".

"Yeah, he should have been sent off and he shouldn't have even been on the pitch. And yes, he was time-wasting a little bit at the end of the game. But what do you want him to do?

He's not going to get the ball back and get it going as quickly as he possibly can." Article continues below He added: "What Palace did for the last 20 minutes of that game is

the same as any team would have done. I'm talking about Arsenal, Liverpool and Man United. "If they're clinging on to that 1-0 lead at Wembley in the FA Cup final, you are

clinging on for dear life, and you do what you've got to do. It is what it is, but don't come on the pitch at full time being a baby." The pair were spotted exchanging words

at the end of the match before Palace coaching staff intervened. The Eagles' No. 2 goalkeeper, Matt Turner, kept Guardiola away while manager Oliver Glasner held Henderson back. The

shot-stopper later opened up about the incident during a post-match interview with ITV. "I just went to shake his hand, but he was disappointed by the time-wasting," Henderson

said. "But no hard feelings." Meanwhile, Guardiola gave short shrift to questions about his exchange of views with Henderson. On the red card decision, Guardiola said simply:

"Ask the referee," before adding that he had "nothing" to say about the post-match incident. However, Foster claimed he was relieved that Henderson was not given his

marching orders, suggesting it would have wrecked the occasion. "It would have ruined the game and would have ruined everybody's Saturday afternoon - I'll take human error all

the time," he said. _---_ _Here at the Manchester Evening News, we’re dedicated to bringing you the best Manchester City coverage and analysis._ _Make sure you don’t miss out on the

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