Pep Guardiola reveals what he said to Jan Paul van Hecke after Erling Haaland bust-up

Pep Guardiola opened up on his post-match confrontation with Jan Paul van Hecke after Brighton came from behind to beat Manchester City. Erling Haaland gave the Premier League champions an early lead but the Seagulls swooped late to take victory.

Joao Pedro equalised for Brighton towards the end of the second half, with the Brazilian forward pouncing on a loose ball to score. Matt O’Riley struck the winner on his Premier League debut with eight minutes remaining to claim all three points for the hosts.

City huffed and puffed in search of a dramatic stoppage-time leveller but were unable to land the killer blow. At one point, there was a tangle between Haaland and Van Hecke which resulted in both players being given yellow cards.

They wrestled each other as they climbed to their feet before Van Hecke went to ground, prompting a brief scuffle between the two teams. After the final whistle, Guardiola was involved in a furious confrontation with Van Hecke as tensions threatened to boil over.

Reflecting on what he told the Brighton defender, Guardiola said: “He was strong with Erling. I said: ‘When Erling then stands up to you, stay on your feet, don’t go to the grass’. But he played a really good game.”

The result at the Amex Stadium saw Guardiola suffer a fourth straight defeat for the first time in his managerial career. It leaves City five points adrift of Liverpool at the top of the Premier League table, with the reigning champions yet to hit their stride.

Jamie Redknapp was highly critical of City’s second-half display, saying on Sky Sports: “I thought second half, and I’ve watched a lot of Manchester City, I’ve admired him for so long but that’s one of the worst halves of football I’ve seen from a Pep Guardiola side.

“They were abject, they didn’t defend, they didn’t win individual battles and they didn’t pass the ball forwards. They were excellent first half, at half-time they should’ve been three goals up.

“In the second half, when he made the subs, there was only one team going to win it. When the game starts to run away from you, you’re looking at characters. Who is going to dig in? Who is going to get on the ball when you need him most?

“There was nobody to do it. The two centre-backs are not a regular partnership and you could see it. They looked like a bunch of strangers. The goals, they were really poor from Manchester City’s point of view.”