Pep Guardiola raised questions about the disallowed goal by Rúben Dias, comparing it to the controversial Newcastle-Arsenal action.
Dias’s 67th-minute goal was disallowed, reminiscent of a previous incident involving Joelinton and Gabriel. Guardiola expressed uncertainty and referenced the Newcastle-Arsenal situation.
“After the Newcastle-Arsenal action, I don’t know. I didn’t watch it [again]. I had five flash interviews and all of them asked me the same question, so maybe you watched it better than me.” Guardiola said in the aftermath of the 1-1 draw at Etihad
A second goal would have given Manchester City a 2-0 lead. Guardiola downplayed a post-match confrontation with Darwin Núñez, stating it was not frustration but merely emotions.
“Nothing happened,” shrugged Guardiola. “He’s stronger than me. It’s not frustration [at the result]. I’m really pleased.”
Jürgen Klopp also played down the incident, emphasizing the fierce on-field rivalry.
“That is nothing to do with the fierce rivalry which you see on the pitch. I don’t think Darwin Núñez knows anything about it. Just emotions. I am not involved, surprisingly, but I love them both so I just tried to calm it down without knowing 100% what happened and not understanding a word. Pep wants to win, we want to win.” Klopp said.
Despite the 1-1 draw, Klopp saw it as a test passed for Liverpool.
“I am not silly,” he said. “If you ask who was more likely to win the game it was City, obviously. For us it passed a test. Last year we had a team that played long together and got completely under the wheels here [losing 4-1] and had no chance.
“Today we had a chance. We want to be ready to give them a proper game. We did. [But] I saw a lot of performances I was not overly happy with. I take what we get and work from here.”
Diogo Jota and Alisson ended the game with injury concerns, with Klopp expressing hope that Alisson’s issue isn’t serious.
