Pep Guardiola 'Jokingly' Pushes West Ham's Michail Antonio 'For Giving His Defenders A Tough Day'

Pep Guardiola was spotted giving Michail Antonio a so-called 'playful push' in the aftermath of Manchester City's 2-2 draw against West Ham – and he spoke about it in his post-match interview.

League leaders City went four points clear of second place Liverpool on Sunday after picking up a tough point on the road.

A first-half brace from Jarrod Bowen clearly shocked City into life in the second period, as goals from Jack Grealish and Vladimír Coufal [own goal] gave the Citizens another push towards the Premier League title.

Disaster for West Ham! 😬

Has Coufal just handed Man City the title?! 🤨#WHUMCI pic.twitter.com/R9Sq5iAm62

— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) May 15, 2022

It was a difficult day at the office for City. The likes of Jarrod Bowen and Pablo Fornals caused stand-in centre-back Fernandinho and the City back line some problems throughout.

Michail Antonio was also a threat going forward and after the full-time whistle, Pep Guardiola 'jokingly' pushed the 32-year-old striker as he was speaking to goalscorer Jack Grealish.

One fan who watched the footage below said: "You've got to love Pep," while another commented: "He wasn't joking."

Pep Guardiola jokingly pushes Michail Antonio away for giving his defenders a tough day 🤣 pic.twitter.com/QF2F42crg4

— Football Daily (@footballdaily) May 15, 2022

Guardiola was then asked about the 'push' in his post-match interview with Sky Sports reporter Geoff Shreeves.

"He goes to the gym every day this guy, he's so strong," the City manager said, before praising the centre-back partnership of Fernandinho and Aymeric Laporte.

"Handling Antonio is not easy," Guardiola added. "They were brilliant."

🗣 "He goes to the gym every day this guy, he's so strong." 🤣

Pep Guardiola explains his playful push on Michail Antonio at full-time pic.twitter.com/g8PepR2QWv

— Football Daily (@footballdaily) May 15, 2022

In his post-match press conference following the West Ham game, Guardiola sent a message to Liverpool's upcoming opponents Southampton after being asked if he had a message for the Saints.

"I would say, beat Liverpool four-zero!" he laughed.

"The big, big privilege we have is that, at home, it's in our hands. We don't have to look at anything else other than ourselves. We just have to give everything.

"I said [to the players], 'Don't be sad today because we gave a really good performance. It's fair, against this opponent, to arrive at the last day to decide who gets the title because both teams are so good'."

Pep Guardiola, asked if he has a message for Southampton on Tuesday evening: “Beat Liverpool 4-0.” #saintsfc

— SaintsExtra (@SaintsExtra) May 15, 2022

Liverpool will play Southampton on Tuesday night at St Mary's before coming up against Wolves on the final day.

City, meanwhile, will be hoping to record a title-winning victory against Steven Gerrard's Aston Villa at the Etihad on Sunday. Will they do it?

Let us know in the comments.