Premier League: Pep Guardiola ‘Thanks’ Referees After Manchester City Lose To Liverpool [Video]

A furious Pep Guardiola insisted that he was not "sarcastic" when he thanked the referees after the match against Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday.

The Reds went eight points clear with a fantastic 3-1 victory over Manchester City, who slipped to the fourth place on the Premier League points table.

Man City and Guardiola were left fuming when the referee did not penalize the hosts for handball on two occasions. In the first half, minutes after the kickoff, Bernardo Silva's pass, which was for Raheem Sterling in the box, instead hit Liverpool right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold's outstretched arm.

That led to a counter-attack from Liverpool before their Brazilian defender Fabinho struck a screamer from 25 yards. The second incident occurred in the second half and once again involved Sterling and Alexander-Arnold.

After Fabinho, Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane scored a goal each to ensure Liverpool secured three more crucial points to strengthen their Premier League campaign.

Meanwhile, the handball controversy evidently was on Guardiola's mind when he shook hands with the match referees, and sarcastically took a dig at them as he told them," THANK YOU SO MUCH!"

During a post-match interview with Sky Sports, when Guardiola was asked if he was sarcastic with the officials, the Man City boss denied it.

"No way. I congratulated them. I'm so polite. I didn't say anything here [either]," Guardiola said.

When he was asked about the first "handball" incident, the Spaniard told the interviewer to "ask the referees" about their decision, while he remained focussed on his team's performance on Sunday at Anfield.

"We tried to do our job. I would like to talk about our performance, it was so good. So, I know when teams come here and the way they play [with respect for] Anfield, and from the opening, with the problems we have in the squad, the way we played was awesome. One of the best performances we have played. We played in the way, the reason we are back-to-back champions. That is the point. At the end, there's still seven months, and if Liverpool win, I will be the first to congratulate them because we cannot deny how good they are," Guardiola added.

Man City, who are nine points behind Premier League leaders Liverpool, next play Chelsea after the international break. Meanwhile, Liverpool, who are yet to lose a match this season in the league, are set to lock horns against Crystal Palace.