Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has defended his decision to hold an on-field debrief following Wednesday night's 1-1 draw with RB Leipzig in the Champions League - and quipped that he could go "crazy" with his tactics and play nine strikers in next month's Round of 16 return leg.
The Premier League champions were dominant in the first-half and appeared to be cantering to a comfortable win after Riyad Mahrez swept them into a 27th minute lead. But the highly-rated Josko Gvardiol netted from a 70th-minute corner to equalise for the Bundesliga outfit, who will travel to the Etihad Stadium on level terms with Guardiola's side.
Guardiola made no substitutions during the match - and then insisted that he may be even bolder with his tactics when the two sides meet again on March 14.
"I was really pleased with what I was seeing," Guardiola said after he was asked about a lack of personnel changes. "So I thought, of course with Phil [Foden] to add his talent to this [the game] after the goal we conceded, but immediately we took the game [back] into our hands.
"Because they [RB Leipzig] play with six up front with incredible runners. In that position, with the way that they play, you have to have a lot of control. The players we had, have an extra pass we needed especially in the first leg.
"Maybe in the second leg I will decide to be crazy and play with nine strikers. But in this game, I felt I've been in this country [Germany] my people have analysed Leipzig and I needed this type of control."
Guardiola raised eyebrows at the end of the match when he engaged his players in a post-match huddle on the pitch - a moment which was scrutinised by BT Sport pundit Rio Ferdinand.
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Ferdinand compared Guardiola to former Hull City manager Phil Brown, who famously gave a half-time team talk on the pitch during the Tigers' 5-1 Premier League defeat at the Etihad on Boxing Day in 2008.
He told BT Sport: "He’s doing a debrief on the pitch, you don’t really see this. Phil Brown was the last person you saw do that at Hull City!"
But Guardiola stood by his decision and explained that he decided to speak to his players immediately after noticing some were visibly disappointed.
When he was asked about the incident, the City chief added: "Because they had their heads down. I said 'why you have your heads down? Heads up, it was really good, the game you played'. People don't like it, it doesn't matter. You played the game you should play."
