Manchester City: With tunnel spat, Pep Guardiola shows class; Chelsea does not

Pep Guardiola again exhibits his class for Manchester City; Chelsea again dishonors itself and shows itself as the Premier League club to hate.

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Even though the season has been bumpy under Pep Guardiola, it’s his response to a rumored post-match altercation that shows he’s the right man for the Manchester City job.

But first, let’s talk about the “tunnel bust-up.” According to The Telegraph, after a match of exchanging barbs, Chelsea fitness coach Paolo Bertelli and City masseur Mark Sertori took their spat to the Stamford Bridge tunnel. Guardiola himself became involved, as both City and Chelsea staff attempted to calm the situation. Also, despite the verbal intensity of the fight, no escalation to fisticuffs happened.

ESPN cites a unnamed source that Chelsea instigated the clash. The Telegraph notes that Bertelli was upset about Guardiola’s sideline manner during the match, inducing Guardiola’s personal entanglement in the tunnel.

That’s rich, coming from a side that sports Antonio Conte.

Frankly, the stinking hypocrisy and ESPN’s reporting is good enough for me: Chelsea is at fault here.

Why? Well, they won 2-1. The club’s personnel could be gracious as it moves closer to a Premier League title. No, Bertelli, who reflects upon Conte and the Stamford Bridge culture over which he presides, decided to not let what happened on the pitch speak for itself. He couldn’t let bygones be bygones.

So Pep and his man Sertori rightfully defended themselves, each other and the City organization. Mind you, the volatile incident didn’t spill out of control either.

Pep even kept his calm for an interview with ignoramus reporters — something I’m sure he didn’t want to do. ESPN quotes him:

"Yes, the tunnel at Chelsea is so tight. So tight. Come on, it was nothing, We congratulate Chelsea for the victory — we are so polite in our defeats. And especially we are so polite when we win, especially that."

That showed class, poise and still got the message across: Chelsea’s the villain here.

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It shows, despite the shadow of a disappointing match and season looming, Guardiola’s got a balanced temperament. He exuded enough passion and control to indicate he is the man to take the Sky Blues to the summit of both EPL and European glory.

Also remember, the London side has no room to point fingers with its compliment of morally upstanding players like John Terry, Diego Costa and Eden Hazard.

So enjoy the victory now, Chelsea, as you should have done. For as time goes on, and Guardiola gets his hands on players conducive to implementing his genius, your days on top are numbered. All that will be left is your petulance for the world to see.