GiveMeSport
·25 November 2023
Darwin Nunez and Pep Guardiola clash at end of Man City 1-1 Liverpool

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·25 November 2023
There was a heated exchange between Pep Guardiola and Darwin Nunez at the end of the match between Manchester City and Liverpool on Saturday afternoon. The game at the Etihad Stadium promised to be a cracker, with the two sides separated by just one point at the top of the Premier League table going into the match.
The Citizens had won all 23 matches at home in 2023 and it looked as if they would make it 24 wins in a row when Erling Haaland gave his side the lead just before the half-hour mark. Nathan Ake found the Norwegian forward in space just outside the box and City's number nine took a touch before drilling the ball into the bottom corner. That was Haaland's 50th goal in the Premier League - it took him took just 48 matches to reach that milestone.
City thought they had doubled their lead with 20 minutes remaining when Ruben Dias tapped the ball into the back of the net from Julian Alvarez's corner, but the goal was ruled out as Manuel Akanji was penalised for a foul on Alisson Becker.
It was a decision that proved costly for City as Liverpool restored parity shortly after through Trent Alexander-Arnold. The Liverpool full-back took aim from just inside the box and his well-placed effort beat Ederson and nestled into the bottom corner. There were no further goals as both sides were forced to share the spoils in an entertaining game in Manchester.
There was a heated exchange between Liverpool striker Nunez and Guardiola moments after the match. Nunez, who played 84 minutes before being withdrawn, made his way to Guardiola moments after the final whistle. Nunez was not happy about something and could be seen pointing towards the pitch. Witnessing the disagreement, Jurgen Klopp was quick to intervene and pulled the Uruguayan striker away to avoid the situation escalating further. Watch the moment below...
When asked about the clash with Nunez in his post-match interview with Sky Sports, Guardiola was keen to downplay the incident and simply replied: "Nothing happened."
Klopp was also asked to give his thoughts on the clash in his press conference after the game. He said, per This is Anfield:
"This situation after the game has nothing to do with the historical, fierce rivalry. I'm not sure Darwin [Nunez] even knows anything about that. I am not sure if I am the one that should explain it as I was not the one involved, surprisingly. I love them both so I tried to calm the situation down without knowing 100% what happened as I didn't understand a word. That's it. It's nothing that isn't already sorted, to be honest. It's emotional. Pep wants to win, we want to win. Both didn't win, so no one is really happy. These things can happen."
How Man City and Liverpool became rivals
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Man City and Liverpool are still first and second in the Premier League and separated by just one point, although Arsenal have the chance to leapfrog both and reach the summit should they beat Brentford on Saturday afternoon.
Both sides are in Champions League action in midweek. City welcome RB Leipzig to the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday evening, with Liverpool taking on Austrian outfit LASK at Anfield the following day.