Alexis Mac Allister has revealed the cause of Darwin Nunez’s fight with Pep Guardiola after Liverpool’s 1-1 draw with Manchester City last weekend.
Trent Alexander-Arnold’s late equaliser cancelled out Erling Haaland’s opener to earn the Reds a share of the spoils at the Etihad. But Liverpool striker Nunez made headlines after the final whistle after he was involved in a heated altercation with the City boss.
Both Jurgen Klopp, who would hold Nunez back and attempt to defuse the situation, and Guardiola played down the incident in their post-match press conferences, with neither divulging what had been the cause of the spat.
But Mac Allister, who was amused by the exchange at the time before aiding Klopp, Adrian and Curtis Jones in trying to calm Nunez down at the time, has revealed how Guardiola’s reaction to a late miss from Haaland ultimately triggered the dispute.
“I imagine Jurgen didn’t understand anything (that was said) after the game,” the Reds midfielder told Clank! when asked what had angered Nunez. “He asked me what I was saying to him, but it was nothing. It was something very minimal.
“As Jurgen said, they are two very emotional people, both Pep and Darwin, and it was nothing. 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.”
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). Basically, 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.”
