Klopp intervened because he 'likes both Guardiola and Nunez'.

Manager Jurgen Klopp explained his intervention in the conflict between Pep Guardiola and Darwin Nunez after the Manchester City - Liverpool match in the 13th round of the Premier League.

"I love both of them so I tried to calm things down," Klopp said in the press conference after the 1-1 draw at the Etihad. "I was completely uninvolved. I'm not sure if I'm the right person to explain this. I didn't understand a word and I don't really know what happened."

The Liverpool manager suggested that the issue might simply be a matter of emotion. Guardiola wanted to win, and his team wanted to win too. When neither side achieves their goal, conflicts like the one between Guardiola and Nunez are entirely possible. Klopp also argued that the incident had nothing to do with the history of rivalry between the two clubs. "I don't think Nunez knew anything about that," the Liverpool manager added.

Jurgen Klopp pulled Darwin Nunez away from an argument with Pep Guardiola after Manchester City's 1-1 draw against Liverpool in the 13th round of the Premier League on November 25th at the Etihad Stadium. Photo: AFP — Jurgen Klopp pulled Darwin Nunez away from an argument with Pep Guardiola after Manchester City's 1-1 draw against Liverpool in the 13th round of the Premier League on November 25th at the Etihad Stadium. Photo: *AFP*

The clash occurred right after the final whistle. Initially, Guardiola and Nunez happily shook hands. But after a few words, their attitudes suddenly changed. Even after being pulled away by Klopp, Nunez still pointed angrily at Guardiola. In the press conference, Guardiola didn't clarify what he had said to Nunez, only joking that Klopp must have been stronger than him to be able to drag the Uruguayan striker away.

In this match, Man City opened the scoring in the 27th minute. After receiving a pass from Nathan Ake, Erling Haaland's shot deflected off goalkeeper Alisson and went into the net. Despite the poor performance, Liverpool still managed to salvage a point. In the 80th minute, following a pass from Mohamed Salah, Trent Alexander-Arnold scored with a diagonal shot to equalize 1-1.

This result meant Man City relinquished the top spot to Arsenal, who won 1-0 away at Brentford. However, manager Guardiola insisted he was not disappointed but extremely pleased with Man City's performance, as after seven years of rivalry, he and his players knew how strong and resilient Liverpool were. Guardiola added: "When they play, the game is like heavy metal. When Salah touches the ball, he never lets it go."

In this match, Haaland reached the milestone of 50 Premier League goals, even becoming the fastest player to achieve this milestone in history, needing only 48 games. Haaland has only played for Man City since 2022. The 23-year-old striker scored 36 Premier League goals last season, a record for a single season, and 14 goals this season.

"Only 50 goals?" Guardiola joked. "Unbelievable. In this game, he almost scored a second, with a shot deflecting off an opponent and another being saved. Then Liverpool equalized. These kinds of gaps are the problem in football."

Following the Liverpool match, Man City lost their Premier League lead to Arsenal. The London team now has 30 points, one point ahead of Man City and two points ahead of Liverpool.

Thanh Quy (according to Daily Mail )

Source link