Kevin De Bruyne was not happy with Pep Guardiola after getting subbed off during Liverpool vs Man City beIN Sports (Photo: Getty)
Pep Guardiola says he is glad that Kevin De Bruyne was annoyed at getting subbed off during Manchester City’s 1-1 draw at Liverpool.
Liverpool and City shared the points on Sunday – a result that keeps Arsenal at the top of the Premier League.
John Stones opened the scoring at Anfield before Alexis Mac Allister equalised from the penalty short just a few minutes into the second-half.
De Bruyne was brilliant in the first-half, assisting Stones’ goal, creating chances and fashioning opportunities for himself for fun.
The equaliser swung the momentum to Liverpool’s favour however and with control on the game slipping, Guardiola made the bold call to sub the Belgian genius off in the 69th minute for Mateo Kovacic.
That decision did not go down well with De Bruyne, who could be seen sharing stern words with his manager as he headed off the pitch and onto the subs bench, with the conversation carrying on for several minutes.
Speaking post-match, Guardiola explained the sub was tactical and insisted that he and his player were still on good terms.
Asked about De Bruyne’s frustrations, the City boss told Sky Sports: ‘That’s good. He has a chance next game to prove me wrong!
‘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.’
The Belgian was not happy with his manager’s decision (Picture: Getty)
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Watching the game for Sky Sports, Manchester United legend Roy Keane agreed with Guardiola’s tactics, saying: ‘I think it was the right decision.
‘Kevin was off it a little bit, but we can’t praise him enough. He’s a world-class player. He was disappointed. Pep gave him a pep talk!
‘No one likes to be brought off but Pep’s job is to look at the bigger picture of getting a result for his team. They’ll no doubt recover from it.’
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