Darwin Nunez and Pep Guardiola got into a fight following Liverpool’s 1-1 draw with Manchester City last weekend, and Alexis Mac Allister has now revealed why.
Erling Haaland’s opening goal was nullified by Trent Alexander-Arnold’s late equalizer, giving the Reds a share of the spoils at the Etihad. However, Nunez, a striker for Liverpool, gained much attention after the final whistle when he got into a furious argument with the City manager.
Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp underplayed the incident in their post-match press conferences, neither disclosing what had sparked the altercation. Klopp would try to calm things down by holding Nunez back.
However, Mac Allister, who at the time found the exchange amusing before helping Klopp, Adrian, and Curtis Jones calm Nunez down, has disclosed how Guardiola’s response to a late Haaland miss ultimately set off the argument.
The Reds midfielder told Clank, “I imagine Jurgen didn’t understand anything (that was said) after the game!” when questioned about what enraged Nunez. “I was saying nothing to him when he asked what I was saying. It was a very small thing.
“As Jurgen mentioned, Pep and Darwin are both highly emotional individuals, and it was insignificant. Darwin answered a comment made by Pep, but it wasn’t particularly extraordinary.
“And that’s why I was laughing too. If I see how serious it is, obviously I wouldn’t laugh in that way. But nothing made me laugh a little like how Darwin got angry so quickly.
“And apart from that, at the beginning, Pep thought he was doing everything like a joke, and of course Darwin was with him. It had transformed his face a little then.
“It was kind of a little funny, the whole situation, but those are things that stay there. I think they both respect each other a lot, and nothing was wrong at that moment.”
Mac Allister continued: “Yes (Darwin took it seriously and Pep saw it more as a joke). I don’t know if I should tell it but I’m going to tell you (what caused it). They had a situation.
“I don’t know if it was a corner or a cross that Haaland headed and the ball went past the goal next to the post. Pep turned around and started saying how lucky we are or something like that.
“Then it goes to the last bit of play, the ball is crossed into the middle and Lucho Diaz wants to head it and they save it. So then Darwin tells him (Guardiola), ‘ah, now you are the ones who are lucky’.
“From there, everything went to s**t. But it was very calm. Nothing serious.”
