Gary Neville has claimed Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne was furious with Pep Guardiola after he took him off against Liverpool.
In the 69th minute, the Spaniard made the surprising decision of taking De Bruyne off to bring Kovacic on at Anfield.
However, it is safe to say that the Belgian captain did not seem too pleased with Guardiola’s decision on Sunday.
Gary Neville says Kevin De Bruyne was fuming with Pep Guardiola as Manchester City drew to Liverpool
Initially, Kevin De Bruyne was caught by cameras as he was arguing with the City boss for the decision to substitute him.
But even after the initial argument, the £54 million (The Telegraph) man was far from done with speaking his mind, which led to Guardiola sitting next to him on the bench and consoling him.
As Manchester City drew 1-1 to Liverpool, courtesy of goals from John Stones and Alexis Mac Allister, Gary Neville noted that Kevin De Bruyne was unhappy with Pep Guardiola after he substituted him.
“It’s an enforced change. Pep [Guardiola] needs more control in that midfield. [Kevin] De Bruyne has a whinge. In fact, he has a proper whinge”, he said on Sky Sports.
One can see Kevin De Bruyne and his manager’s side of the story
It is hard to disagree with Gary Neville as Kevin De Bruyne was evidently raging with Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola against Liverpool.
Then again, one can understand why that was the case as there was a game to be won and Guardiola had decided to substitute arguably his biggest difference-maker.
While the 32-year-old was far from his best at Anfield, one of the facets that make him a special midfielder is his ability to change games even on his off days.
However, from Pep Guardiola’s perspective, he needed City’s midfield to calm things down during a frantic contest and Mateo Kovacic was the perfect candidate to play such a role.
As a result, one can see both sides of the story.
