Liverpool midfielder Alexis Mac Allister has disclosed that the altercation between teammate Darwin Nunez and Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola originated as a lighthearted joke that escalated quickly.
Following last month’s 1-1 draw between the two sides, tempers flared, prompting Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool staff to intervene.
Guardiola downplayed the incident, stating that “nothing happened.” Mac Allister, in an interview with Clank!, provides insight into the sequence of events that led to the heated exchange between Nunez and Guardiola.
“As Jurgen said, they are two very emotional people, both Pep and Darwin, and it was nothing,” Mac Allister said. “Some comment that Pep made, Darwin responded to it, but it wasn’t anything out of this world.
“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.”
The Liverpool midfielder continued: “I don’t know if I should tell [what caused it] but I’m going to tell you. Basically, they had a situation.
“I don’t know if it was a corner or a cross that [Erling] 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 [Guardiola], ‘Ah, now you are the ones who are lucky’.
“From there, everything went to s**t. But it was very calm. Nothing serious.”