Exeter manager reveals gift to Pep Guardiola after mammoth Manchester City defeat in FA Cup | OneFootball

Exeter City manager Gary Caldwell has revealed the gift he gave to Pep Guardiola following Manchester City’s emphatic 10-1 victory over the League One outfit in the FA Cup. 

The Premier League side’s win, which gained entry into the fourth round of the competition, was the biggest FA Cup victory by a top-flight side since Tottenham beat Crewe Alexandra 13-2 in 1960 – a record that stood for 66 years. 

Two own goals added to 20-year-old Max Alleyne’s 12th-minute opener before Rodri’s 28-yard strike after 24 minutes – his first goal for Manchester City in over 19 months – put the visitors 4-0 down at the interval, and things only got worse. 

A debut goal and assist got Antoine Semenyo off to the perfect start in Pep Guardiola’s side while Tijjani Reijnders, Ryan McAidoo and a Rico Lewis brace finalised a merciless killing of the sorry third-tier side. 

The humbling result for Gary Caldwell and the 7,800 travelling supporters was as painful as it was expected but there was some sentiment shortly after full time when the Exeter City boss gave Pep Guardiola a gift. 

“I gave him a nice bottle of Scottish whisky. He said he doesn’t drink whisky. I said, ‘You might if you start losing 10-1,” Caldwell joked, as relayed by BBC Sport.

“It was brilliant to chat to him and pick the brains of one of the best coaches and managers of all time.

“I said thank you for putting the best team out because we didn’t get the half Man City experience, we got the full experience, we’ve got the full team and we now know what the very best do and what elite football looks like.

“I think that can be a huge learning experience for us that can only make us better.”

Erling Haaland, Rodri and Rayan Cherki all started the tie alongside Manchester City’s £65 million signing Semenyo, which undoubtedly put on a show, be it degrading or not, for the League One side. 

Gary Caldwell further explained how he will take the insight that Pep Guardiola gave him after the final whistle into the remainder of the current season as they look to avoid relegation into League Two. 

“The team that they put out has got a Ballon d’Or winner in it, it’s got the best number nine in the world, who when he finishes playing probably one of the best number nines of all time in terms of goals that he’ll score at the end of his career,” he told BBC Radio Devon.

“He’s probably one of the best managers of all time, and the best at the moment, so we knew the level was big, we knew the challenge was big, we knew the challenge was big and we got the full force of their three draws that they got before.

“To get that sort of insight is an amazing experience for me, for the staff and all he spoke about was running, all he spoke about was competing. To hear it from one of the very best was really good.”