Pep Guardiola has apologised to Leyton Orient fans after mistakenly referring to them as ‘Leyton’ in his pre-match press conference.
The League One side more commonly known as ‘Orient’ gave Manchester City an almighty scare in the FA Cup on Saturday. A stunner put the hosts ahead, with Jamie Donley’s long-range effort bouncing off the crossbar and going in off goalkeeper Stefan Ortega, who was credited with an own goal.
But City made changes at the break and two of their subs – Kevin De Bruyne and Abdukodir Khusanov – got on the scoresheet to book their spot in the last 16.
After the final whistle, Guardiola applauded all four corners of the Brisbane Road crowd, who created an electric atmosphere throughout the fourth-round tie. The former Barcelona boss also extended his apologies when it was pointed out, during his post-match press duties, that he had been getting their name wrong.
“Sorry,” he said. “Listen, I don’t want to offend anyone. I have been offended many, many times, but I don’t want to offend. I am so sorry for the people of this lovely stadium.
“I said before that Leyton Orient – I say it properly now – is special. You feel it, you feel it. I like it. It is my ninth season in England.
“I play many times in lower divisions and in this incredible competition, so the vibe, the smell of the crowd and everything, you play in the FA Cup and you don’t find it in other places, especially in these games.”
Guardiola named a strong City line-up, despite giving star striker Erling Haaland a rest, with new signings Omar Marmoush, Nico Gonzalez and Vitor Reis among those to start. But Orient broadly gave as good as they got, and could have forced extra-time with any one of their late opportunities to equalise.
Guardiola admitted that his players rode their luck against opponents they should have beaten comfortably on paper. “We were lucky at the end because they had chances,” he said. “But we created a lot and the keeper [Josh Keeley] was really, really good.
“Yeah, it was a tight game and we knew it for the situation that we have, but we behaved really well, we reacted really well with great character and yeah, we are in the next round. It is always nice. We have been last four or five years in semi-final stages all the time and it’s good to continue.”
