Pep Guardiola has opened up on the touchline row he had with Kevin de Bruyne during Manchester City’s win against Real Madrid, and revealed that is was not a one-off.
City booked their place in the Champions League final with a thumping 4-0 defeat of Real Madrid on Wednesday evening, a performance widely regarded as the best of Guardiola’s tenure at the club.
Guardiola’s side dominated the reigning European champions in the opening 45 minutes, and went into half-time 2-0 up thanks to a Bernardo Silva brace.
Second half goals from Manuel Akanji and Julian Alvarez completed the rout to cap a perfect evening for City.
Guardiola being Guardiola though, there is always room for improvement.
The coach’s perfectionism was clear for all to see when, with City two goals up in the second half, he berated Kevin de Bruyne for not passing the ball.
Guardiola could be heard shouting, “Pass it!” from his technical area.
When De Bruyne lost possession to Eder Militao, he turned to his manager and shouted, “shut up! Shut up!”
The incident was widely shared on social media, but speaking ahead of City’s Premier League clash with Chelsea on Sunday, Guardiola said that kind of confrontation is a positive thing, not negative.
“The action with Kevin [de Bruyne] I love it, we shout each other,” Pep said.
“I like it. Sometimes it’s a little bit flat, I like this energy. It’s not the first time, you don’t see, but he shouts at me in training. This is what we need. After that he becomes the best.
“Gundo lost the ball, Kevin too, we didn’t need that in the game. At half-time I spoke about controlling the game, drop them and turn them.
“We didn’t do it. Kevin stays calm and makes an incredible assist. Jack did the opposite, he could run but helps the team and joins the passes. It’s football, we can do it. These things must happen to be competitive.”
City will face Internazionale in the final in Istanbul on June 10.
Guardiola’s side are just three wins away from completing a Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League treble.
