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Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola lamented about the balls used in the EFL and FA Cups.
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola criticised the FA Cup ball, faulting the competition's official round leather for his team's awry shooting in their triumph over Plymouth.
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Man City struggle against Plymouth
The Cityzens had to overcome difficulty in their FA Cup clash against Plymouth. The Championship side scored first, putting the hosts under pressure, but a brace from Nico O’Reilly and a late Kevin De Bruyne strike helped the Premier League champions to victory.
Manchester City had to toil for their goals, as despite their possession dominance, the ball refused to go in. They had 29 shots, 10 of which were from big chances; only nine were on target, and only three led to goals.
After the game, Guardiola blamed his team's imprecision on the Mitre-issued FA Cup ball, which he argues is inferior to the Nike ball used by the Premier League and the Adidas ball used in the Champions League.
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What Guardiola said
“Normally the ball goes inside from these shots. It's difficult to control it,” Guardiola said in the post-match press conference.
“Many years, many players and managers say about that. When you lose it [sounds like] you're complaining but the ball is not right. I’m sorry. In many years it's happened in the FA Cup and Carabao Cup, I know it's a business and they come to agreements.
“I've said it for many years. I'd like to play Champions League when we play on Wednesday, we play on Saturday... play on Sunday. There are things out of our control.
“I’ve said my opinion and the people say fine or not fine. We won so people will be nice to me but if we lose I would think the same. I would not say it because I don’t want to be punished but it’s the truth. The Champions League ball is exceptional; the Premier League ball is exceptional, but this one is not good.”
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta also complained about the Puma balls used in the EFL Cup after his team's EFL Cup defeat to Newcastle.
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