Pep Guardiola and Kevin de Bruyne were caught in a touchline bust-up when the Belgian midfielder was substituted towards the end of a nerve-wracking draw with Liverpool at Anfield.
The Belgian playmaker was furious at being substituted and was annoyed at the decision to swap him with former Chelsea midfielder Mateo Kovacic in the 69th minute.
De Bruyne orchestrated City’s goal when he crafted a smart corner routine for John Stones who found the back of the net but Liverpool took only five minutes after half-time to make it 1-1 via Alexis Mac Allister’s penalty.
But the Belgian was taken off 20 minutes before full-time and De Bruyne voiced his complaints to both manager and Man City staff before taking his seat on the bench.
Guardiola sat next to the veteran midfielder in a bid to cool his response as the pair went on discussing the rights and wrongs of the Spaniard’s decision.
Guardiola told Sky Sports: “That’s good. Have a chance next game to prove it. We need a player who keeps the ball. Its not about pressing. Kovacic is really good at that. We were happy with Kevin. It’s not a problem. We’re fine.”
Kevin de Bruyne is expected to return for the FA Cup quarter-final clash against Newcastle United this weekend.
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The match could have gone either way, but Pep Guardiola was happy with how his side responded to the pressure of Liverpool when Mac Allister scored a leveler five minutes into the second half.
The thrilling contest ended in a stalemate, which means Arsenal now sit at the top of the Premier League table after their win over Brentford on Saturday. The top three sides in the league table are separated by just one point.