Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola was seen having words with Jan Paul van Hecke shortly after the Brighton defender tangled on the pitch with Erling Haaland
Pep Guardiola says he told Jan Paul van Hecke to “stay on his feet” during a heated exchange following Manchester City’s shock loss at Brighton on Saturday night.
The Premier League champions hit the front on the south coast courtesy of Erling Haaland but ended the night five points behind Liverpool after a rousing second half fightback from the Seagulls, who hit back through Joao Pedro and Matt O’Riley.
Guardiola was seen having his trademark chat with an opposition player in the immediate aftermath on the pitch with Van Hecke, who was booked after tangling with Haaland right near the final whistle.
And the City boss revealed exactly what he told the Dutch defender when he was asked about the tense looking incident in his post-match press conference.
The Spaniard explained: “He was strong with Erling. I said: ‘When Erling then stands up to you, stay on your feet, don’t go to the grass’. But he played a really good game.”
Liverpool took full advantage of City’s fourth loss in a row to open up a five point gap at the Premier League summit with a huge 2-0 win over Aston Villa at Anfield courtesy of goals from Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah. Arsenal could also cut the gap on City when they face Chelsea in a mouthwatering London derby on Sunday.
Speaking post-match, Guardiola seemed to cast doubt on the champions’ hopes of claiming an unprecedented fifth consecutive league title and suggested that another team ‘might deserve it’ more.
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He told Match of The Day: “We are not able to do 90 minutes right now. We played a really good first half and moments in the second half. We lost again so clean our heads, international break and hopefully our players come back fit.
“We have to try and win games again. We were not able to sustain the rhythm in the second half. Four [defeats] in a row. We have to change things quick.
“The schedule becomes tough but it is going to happen when the players come back. Maybe after seven years winning six Premier Leagues, maybe one year another team deserve it. We see what happens in Liverpool against Aston Villa, we’ll see.”
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