As the final whistle blew, Hurzeler walked towards the technical area to shake hands with the officials. While he was heading towards the Man City coaching staff, Guardiola kept his hands in his pockets, looked away, and quickly walked onto the pitch. The 32-year-old Hurzeler, noticing this, immediately turned back to his colleagues and embraced them in celebration. The incident quickly spread across social media.
Many fans believe the Spanish manager was upset about suffering his second consecutive defeat. "Pep is very gracious in victory, but always irritable in defeat," commented user Foucaultshadow1 on Reddit.
User @Automatic_Pen8494 alluded to the 54-year-old manager's tendency to praise opponents after victories, but display irritation after losses. They wrote, "You've done well when Guardiola ignores you. But when he calls your team excellent, consider it a long-term defeat. Great win for Hurzeler."
User @Self-righteous responded that the Brighton manager looked even happier after being snubbed. This is the second consecutive season Brighton has defeated Man City 2-1 at Falmer Stadium. In all three encounters with Guardiola, Hurzeler remains undefeated, with two wins and one draw. "Hurzeler has destroyed Guardiola," wrote @BlackGiroud.
This isn't the first time Guardiola has attracted attention for bypassing post-match etiquette. In 2014, while managing Bayern Munich, he also didn't shake hands with MLS All-Stars coach Caleb Porter after a 2-1 loss. In 5/2025, Pep again refused to shake hands with goalkeeper Dean Henderson after the FA Cup final loss to Crystal Palace.
Born in 1993 in the US, Hurzeler is the youngest manager in Premier League history. He developed in the Bayern Munich academy but wasn't a standout player. Before leading Brighton in 2024, he took St. Pauli from the relegation zone of the German second division to the Bundesliga.
In the win against Man City on 31/8, Hurzeler turned the game around with astute second-half substitutions, notably bringing on four players simultaneously in the 60th minute. James Milner then equalized from the penalty spot before Brajan Gruda sealed the victory in the 89th minute.
Compiled by Hoang An
