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Alan Pardew branded Stefan Ortega's post-match comments a 'stupid error', after he appeared to aim a subtle dig at Liverpool.
The Manchester City goalkeeper gave away a penalty as his side fell to a 2-0 defeat away to the Reds on Sunday, courtesy of a 12th-minute Cody Gakpo strike and Mohamed Salah's second-half penalty.
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But it was Ortega's comments after the match which were a major talking point, as he discussed the Anfield crowd's chants of 'You're getting sacked in the morning', aimed at his manager Pep Guardiola.
In response, Guardiola smirked and held up six fingers in reference to his six Premier League title wins with the Citizens.
When asked for his thoughts on the incident in his post-match interview however, Ortega bizarrely took aim at the city of Liverpool.
The German stopper said: "Someone told me before that this area [Liverpool] is probably not the best part in the UK. I think the manager reacted really well."
Defeat for the Premier League champions means that they now trail Liverpool by 11 points at the top of the table, and are without a win in seven games.
And while former Newcastle manager Alan Pardew admitted that emotions would have been running high for Ortega, he warned that the 32-year-old will quickly live to regret his comments.
Appearing on talkSPORT's The Final Word, Pardew condemned his choice of words: "He shouldn't have said that, absolutely not.
"It's the frustration, the anger, the pressure. And then saying something stupid like that, he'll regret that.
"And he's going to regret it quite soon because he'll be getting a few texts, and a few messages I'm sure onto his mobile phone from the hierarchy at his football club."
Pardew then went on to explain how City's recent run of form would have piled on the pressure on those at the club, as he highlighted Guardiola's emotionally-charged gesture at Anfield
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The 63-year-old continued: "We can't hold him [Ortega] to court over that, it's a stupid error to say.
"It just goes to show you the depth of pressure that is on you as a Premier League player, Premier League manager.
"Pep coming out doing the six signal, and all that, it's all part of the process. It draws you out, this game. It brings out the best in you sometimes, but it can also bring out the worst in you."
Having now lost four consecutive Premier League games, City are now on their worst league run of form since 2008.
Meanwhile defeat to Sporting Lisbon in the Champions League last month means that the Sky Blues' losing streak extends to five in all competitions, a first in Guardiola's managerial career.
And the Liverpool fans' tongue in cheek chants were clearly not lost on the Spaniard, who admitted: "Maybe they are right with the results we've been having.
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"I didn't expect that at Anfield. They didn't do it [chant] at 1-0, but at 2-0. Maybe they should've sung it in the past.
“I didn't expect it from the people from Liverpool, but it's fine!”
