Pep Guardiola rubbished claims he deliberately left the grass long against Liverpool (Image: GETTY)
It has been claimed the Manchester City boss instructed groundsman Lee Jackson to keep the grass long in a bid to disrupt Liverpool’s attack.
However, he insists those claims are false and says he always keeps the grass as short as possible as it helps his own possession-based style.
“I’m not the green-keeper, I never did that,” he said.
“If they want to play quick, we want to play quicker. Always we try to put water [on the grass] but it’s not as necessary here because we get a lot of rain.
“We want to cut the field all the 10 years, it’s better conditions for both teams. When this happens, you do the best for opponents.
“We have to respect them with the rules. I never speak with the groundsman.
“At the beginning [when I was appointed] they did [a cut] that was for the weather conditions.
“But I have too many issues to think about that. I trust the groundsman. I never made a phone call to say, ‘Do this to damage our opponents’.”
Guardiola says he always keeps the Etihad grass as short as possible (Image: GETTY)
Manchester City will face Nigel Clough's Burton Albion in the semi-final of the Carabao Cup (Image: GETTY)
Guardiola’s side reduced Liverpool's lead at the top of the Premier League to only four points with the win.
However, the City boss has now turned his attention to Wednesday’s Carabao Cup semi-final first leg clash with League One side Burton at the Etihad.
They go into the tie as massive favourites and should face one of Chelsea or Tottenham in next month's final.
And Guardiola says he is desperate to retain the trophy he won last year.
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Benjamin Mendy is nearing a return to fitness for City (Image: GETTY)
“Winning is important, we are one step closer to going back to Wembley,” he added.
“We take it seriously the Carabao Cup, it’s a more local competition and everyone is happy to win it.”
A number of City stars could be rested for the cup clash but Guardiola has everybody fit apart from left-back Benjamin Mendy.
He did provide an encouraging update on the Frenchman’s progress, though, who is still suffering from a knee injury.
“He's much better, he’s not with the team yet but maybe two or three weeks and he'll be with us,” he said.