Erling Haaland is still out but Kevin De Bruyne is ready to start for Manchester City at Newcastle on Saturday, manager Pep Guardiola has said.

Striker Haaland is still troubled by the foot injury that has sidelined him since early December.

The Premier League champions, however, are boosted by De Bruyne’s progress after the playmaker’s return from a lengthy lay-off as a second-half substitute in last weekend’s FA Cup victory over Huddersfield.

City also expect midfielder Jack Grealish to be available after illness, but defender John Stones is not yet ready to return from an ankle injury.

City manager Guardiola said at a press conference: “Jack has been sick. Hopefully today he’s back. Erling is out and John is out.”

De Bruyne said last week he expected to be on the bench at Newcastle, but asked if he could start, Guardiola said: “Yes. What I saw yesterday he looks really good and dynamic.

“The minutes he played were really good, better than the training sessions before the Huddersfield game when he was a little bit not what he is.

“But that’s normal when you come from five months of injury. He had highs and lows in the training sessions, but that is completely normal. The important thing is he is getting better.”

What the papers say

Conor Gallagher is reportedly at the head of Tottenham’s transfer wishlist as Ange Postecoglou searches for a number eight. According to The Independent, Spurs are aiming to complete the transfer in January, with Chelsea bosses believed to be willing to make a deal for the right price.

Staying with Tottenham, The Independent says Bayern Munich are in talks to sign Spurs defender Eric Dier. It comes after the north London outfit beat Bayern in the race for the signature of centre-back Radu Dragusin.

The Telegraph reports Newcastle have had an approach for forward Dominic Solanke turned down by Bournemouth. Bosses at the Cherries are said to be determined not to release the 26-year-old this month.

Brentford and Crystal Palace are interested in Sunderland forward Jack Clarke, according to the Evening Standard.

Social media round-upPlayers to watch

Erling Haaland: AS reports Real Madrid are assessing a potential approach for the Manchester City striker amid concerns over whether Kylian Mbappe will leave Paris St Germain to join them.

Hannibal Mejbri: The Evening Standard says the Manchester United midfielder is on the brink of a move to Sevilla after choosing the LaLiga side over Everton, with the loan fee reportedly stretching to seven figures.

Erling Haaland has handed Manchester City a major injury boost after returning to training.

Haaland, with 19 goals in all competitions this season, has been sidelined with a foot injury since City’s 1-0 defeat at Aston Villa on December 6.

But the Norway international was pictured in training with the squad ahead of their third-round FA Cup clash against Huddersfield on Sunday.

Jeremy Doku, who has missed his side’s last eight matches with a muscular injury, also trained with his team-mates.

Both players had previously been training individually.

The imminent return of Haaland and Doku will send a warning to City’s rivals with Kevin De Bruyne also stepping up his return.

The Belgian star, who has been out of action since suffering a hamstring injury on the opening day of the season, made his comeback to the matchday squad an as unused substitute in City’s comfortable 2-0 win over Sheffield United last weekend.

Pep Guardiola’s City trail Liverpool by five points in the Premier League with a game in hand.

Pep Guardiola urged his Manchester City players to seize a potential “once-in-a-lifetime” opportunity after reaching the Club World Cup final.

The Champions League winners set up a clash with Brazilian side Fluminense in Friday’s showpiece in Jeddah with a comfortable 3-0 win over Japanese outfit Urawa Red Diamonds on Tuesday.

City needed an own goal in first-half stoppage time to get their campaign up and running in Saudi Arabia, but strikes from Mateo Kovacic and Bernardo Silva after the break secured a straightforward victory.

City manager Guardiola told reporters at a press conference said: “We didn’t win it (before) – it’s the first time Manchester City are here.

“This is the last step – a title the club doesn’t have, so we’ll go for it.

“To play this final you have to have done incredible things – mainly to win the Champions League.

“Once we are here, maybe it is a trophy we play for once in a lifetime.

“It’s against Fluminense, a South American team, experienced, a lot of quality. I saw yesterday how good they are.

“But we are there. Tomorrow we will start to see Fluminense and try to do a good performance and win the title.”

City were without Erling Haaland for a fourth successive game due to a foot injury but were still far too strong for the Asian Champions League winners.

They had already created numerous chances before defender Marius Hoibraten turned into his own net to give City the lead.

Reds boss Maciej Skorza said: “They are the best team in the world in my opinion, but our plan didn’t work in the perfect way.

“We expected that possession would be huge in favour of Manchester City. We had our plan for counter-attacks, but this didn’t happen.

“Maybe this is the big difference in the physical aspect between the two teams and lack of experience of playing teams like City.”

Manchester City eased into the final of the Club World Cup with a comfortable 3-0 win over Japanese side Urawa Red Diamonds on Tuesday.

Without Erling Haaland, the Champions League winners needed an own goal to launch their campaign in Saudi Arabia but second-half strikes from Mateo Kovavic and Bernardo Silva saw them stroll to victory.

Having already added the European Super Cup to last season’s treble, City will now have the chance to claim a fifth trophy of the calendar year when they face Brazil’s Fluminese in Friday’s final in Jeddah.

With Urawa showing limited ambition against City’s formidable line-up, the only surprise was the game remained goalless until first-half stoppage time.

City may have been without a recognised centre forward in Haaland’s continued absence due to a foot injury, but the Reds defence was given little respite and goalkeeper Shusaku Nishikawa had a busy night.

Rodri had City’s first attempt on goal when he fired wide after eight minutes and he had another effort deflected past the post after Silva shot over.

Nishikawa did well to turn over from Matheus Nunes on the half-hour and he denied both the Portugal international again and Phil Foden from distance.

City finally claimed the breakthrough their play deserved just before the interval, although they did benefit from a stroke of luck.

Nunes broke down the right and exchanged passes with Silva before driving the ball low towards goal, where it was turned into his own net by Norwegian defender Marius Hoibraten.

With their lead established, City tightened their grip after the break.

Kyle Walker played Kovacic into space for the Croatia midfielder to lift the ball over Nishikawa for the second after 52 minutes.

Nunes should have added another moments later but headed wide from a Jack Grealish cross.

The third came just before the hour after Nishikawa pushed away another Nunes effort and Silva drove in the rebound with the aid of a deflection.

Guardiola began to make changes in the latter stages as he looked ahead to the final.

One of the substitutes, Julian Alvarez, was denied by Nishikawa at point-blank range and Grealish squandered another chance by delaying his shot.

Urawa had a couple of late chances as City eased up but John Stones cleared after Bryan Linssen seized on a poor backpass and Ederson denied Shoya Nakajima with his feet.

After years of near misses, 2023 was when everything came together on the pitch for Manchester City and they finally got their hands on the Champions League trophy.

Their triumph on a glorious June evening in Istanbul, sealed with a fine Rodri strike against Inter Milan, capped a memorable campaign in which they also retained the Premier League and won the FA Cup.

It was a treble achieved only once previously, by Manchester United, and City left their rivals in no doubt as to where the power now lies along the way as they swatted them aside at Wembley.

Ilkay Gundogan scored the fastest goal recorded in an FA Cup final, after just 13 seconds, as City prevailed in an all-Manchester showpiece that was more convincing than the 2-1 scoreline suggested.

The manner in which City won the title was just as impressive, clawing back an eight-point deficit in the spring to overhaul Arsenal, the highlight being a stunning 4-1 defeat of the Gunners in April.

The intensity of that performance was matched over two legs against Real Madrid in the Champions League final, with the 4-0 win at the Etihad Stadium leaving few in any doubt this was a side destined for greatness.

Erling Haaland finished the 2022-23 campaign with an extraordinary 52 goals to his name yet the story of City’s season was of a fine team tuned to perfection by Pep Guardiola.

But a large cloud still hangs over the club, after they were charged with 115 historical breaches of financial regulations by the Premier League in February.

Elsewhere, Manchester United returned to trophy-winning ways by claiming the Carabao Cup and Newcastle emerged as a new force by snatching a Champions League spot.

West Ham won their first major trophy since 1980 as they triumphed in the Europa Conference League, a success that finally earned silverware for their veteran manager David Moyes. Beating Fiorentina in the final also provided a fitting farewell for Declan Rice, who later joined Arsenal.

Everton evaded relegation by the skin of their teeth with Leicester facing the drop instead, just six years after winning the Premier League. Luton, a mere 10 years after playing in the National League, defied the odds to win promotion.

Celtic won the domestic treble north of the border while on the international front, England and Scotland both qualified for Euro 2024. Wales will hope to join them.

The women’s game was dominated by the World Cup in Australia. England enjoyed a fine run to the final but fell at the last hurdle as Spain took the glory in a game that became overshadowed by post-match controversy involving Spanish Football Federation president Luis Rubiales.

The Women’s Super League was won, for a fourth year in succession, by Chelsea.

Erling Haaland will miss Manchester City’s final Champions League group game at Red Star Belgrade but is set to return to training on Thursday, manager Pep Guardiola has said.

The prolific Norwegian missed the Premier League win at Luton on Sunday with a foot problem and has not travelled to Serbia for Wednesday’s European dead rubber.

It remains unclear if the 23-year-old will be fit for the visit of Crystal Palace on Saturday but Guardiola has suggested the player could soon be back in action.

The City boss told reporters at a press conference: “He will be back on Thursday, I think. We will see how he feels.

“I don’t know right now (when he will be back) but the next press conference I could be more precise.”

City are also without Jeremy Doku in Belgrade because of a muscular problem while Kevin De Bruyne, who has been out since August, is not yet ready to rejoin the squad.

Goalkeeper Ederson is also sitting out that game, handing an opportunity to deputy Stefan Ortega.

There is nothing riding on the game at the Rajko Mitic Stadium with holders City having already won Group G and Red Star, who lost 3-1 at the Etihad Stadium in September, condemned to last place.

Consequently, Guardiola intends to make some changes as he looks ahead to the Club World Cup in Saudi Arabia next week, although he insists he will continue to demand the highest standards.

“We approach the game like we did the first game in Manchester, the same way,” he said. “The players have to perform. We’ve prepared really well. I hope we can do a good game.

“But of course we are going to rotate some players because after we have three days, travel, semi-final, potential final.

“Tomorrow I’ll be very pleased to see many players who didn’t play lately involved.”

One of those players to feature will be Ortega, who joined Guardiola for pre-match media duties.

The German said: “I’m happy for every game I get here and tomorrow could be the next chance for me to show my best version.”

Mateo Kovacic says Manchester City will need to raise their level while they are without key players if they are to remain in the Premier League title race.

The champions came from behind to win 2-1 at Luton on Sunday but did so without injured top-scorer Erling Haaland, who was out with a stress fracture in his foot.

The 23-year-old, who has scored 19 goals this campaign in addition to the 52 he netted in his debut season at City, is also likely to miss Wednesday’s Champions League trip to Belgrade to face Red Star and Saturday’s meeting at home to Crystal Palace.

In-form winger Jeremy Doku also sat out the win at Kenilworth Road with a muscular injury, joining long-term absentee Kevin De Bruyne among those unavailable to manager Pep Guardiola as his team looks to chase down a four-point gap to league-leaders Liverpool.

“Obviously we missed key players like Erling and Kevin, it’s never easy when you miss such big players,” said Kovacic. “But they are not in the moment here, we need everybody to give 10, 20 per cent more like we did (on Sunday) and then we can win games.”

The win was City’s first in five matches following draws against Liverpool, Tottenham and Chelsea, prior to last week’s loss to Aston Villa.

Defeat to Rob Edwards’ side would have left them seven points adrift of the Reds, but victory against Palace will move them to within a point of the top with the sides above them not playing until Sunday.

Bernardo Silva and Jack Grealish each scored in the space of three second-half minutes to turn the game around after Elijah Adebayo’s goal at the end of the first period had left them facing a fifth straight winless game.

“The team was confident because we were playing good,” said Kovacic. “We had not bad results, some draws where we could have won.

“This is football sometimes, then it’s about how you come back. Today we came back in a good way.

“A big three points. We showed overall great football, especially in the first half we played very well, we found a lot of players in the pockets which is what we want.

“When you do your thing and insist, the goals come. We could have scored even more, but I’m happy with the three points.

“We saw in recent games that big teams can struggle here. We showed that even when the circumstances are like this we can do our best and play good football.

“This team has shown over the years that in the tough moments, they are there, and they were there again (on Sunday).”

Pep Guardiola is confident Manchester City will retain the Premier League title if they maintain their current level of performance.

The treble winners have been held to draws in their last three games at the hands of Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottenham.

Yet in a strong message to rivals and any doubters, Guardiola has insisted his players are not lacking any hunger as they chase a fourth successive league crown.

The City manager said: “I have a feeling that if we maintain that level, we’ll win the Premier League. We will win it again.

“If we (could) maintain the level of Liverpool and Tottenham, I’ll sign for it right now. We didn’t win 5-0 – we drew – but I’d sign right now (for) my team (to) behave the way we’ve played the last two games.

“I don’t know if we can sustain that all season and that is the challenge.”

Guardiola name-checked a number of prominent football pundits, including former Manchester United defender Gary Neville, as he insisted there was no complacency within his squad.

“I don’t have anything to say about the pundits,” said Guardiola, whose side travel to Aston Villa on Wednesday.

“Maybe I’m wrong but I don’t think it’s about complacency. I know the players, I know how they run. How we behave is extraordinary.

“He knows how difficult it is otherwise Gary Neville would’ve won four Premier Leagues in the best period of Manchester United. But he didn’t do it.

“I see my team, how they fight, how they press, how they continue until the end and how upset they are after we concede.

“Maybe, maybe I’m wrong and they are seeing everything that I’m not able to see, but I don’t have that feeling.

“Jamie Carragher didn’t win one (league title). Micah Richards didn’t win four Premier Leagues in a row. Never, ever.”

Guardiola has also defended the conduct of his team after the stormy end to Sunday’s 3-3 draw with Spurs.

A number of players surrounded referee Simon Hooper in protest when Erling Haaland was denied the chance to play advantage after being fouled.

Haaland had quickly got up from a bad tackle to play a through-ball for Jack Grealish which could have led to a stoppage-time City winner.

City have been charged with failing to control their players over the incident by the Football Association.

“I would like to know how the reaction should be when that last action happened,” Guardiola said.

“We didn’t lose because of that action, maybe Jack wouldn’t have scored.

“But I would like to know from the Premier League or whoever, how should we react in that situation? We want to be there, we want to compete against the top sides. It’s a human instinct.

“Right now the players would not react in that way, but in that moment someone tell me. They want to fine (us), we’ll be fined. It’s fine, but I promise you, if you are a footballer and it happened, you would react in that way.

“It happened 20 years ago, 40 years ago. It will happen in 40 years. Of course you have to respect the referees. Tell me one player or manager who doesn’t respect the referees, but it is emotions. It is feelings.”

Erling Haaland faces possible disciplinary action after complaining about referee Simon Hooper on social media following Manchester City’s dramatic 3-3 draw with Tottenham.

The City striker was incensed after being denied the opportunity to play advantage in the closing moments of a thrilling Premier League clash at the Etihad Stadium.

Haaland was fouled but quickly got up and played Jack Grealish through on goal only for Hooper to pull play back and award a free-kick.

Haaland was one of several City players to angrily remonstrate with the official and he continued his protests after the game by reposting a clip of the incident on X, formerly Twitter, with the comment “Wtf”.

The PA news agency has contacted the Football Association over the matter.

Manager Pep Guardiola was not aware of Haaland’s social media post when he spoke to reporters after the game but, speaking about Haaland’s on-field reaction, admitted he could understand the player’s anger.

Guardiola said: “It’s normal. His reaction was the same for 10 players. The rules are you cannot talk with the referees or fourth officials, so we should have had 10 players sent off today.

“He’s a little bit disappointed. Even the referee – if he played for Man City today he would be disappointed for that action, that’s for sure.”

Guardiola had tried to temper his criticism, saying in a TV interview he did not want to make a “Mikel Arteta comment”, in reference to the Arsenal manager’s controversial remarks after a game against Newcastle last month.

He added in a press conference: “I make mistakes, the players make mistakes.

“It surprised me because in the moment Erling went down (and) if you whistle in that moment it’s fine.

“But when he stands up and continues and the referee makes that gesture to play on, and after he (Haaland) makes the pass he then stops the game – I don’t want to criticise him.

“On the touchline sometimes I lose my mind and my gestures are not proper but for many years as a manager I’m not a guy, when I’m refreshed, to comment.”

City led 2-1 at half-time thanks to a Phil Foden goal after Son Heung-min had scored at both ends.

Giovani Lo Celso levelled for Spurs and Dejan Kulusevski did likewise in the 90th minute after Jack Grealish looked to have won it for City.

It was the champions’ third successive draw.

Guardiola said: “It’s not the first time we have faced this situation where we are playing good but results don’t come. Always we find a solution but lately the results don’t come and we are struggling.”

For Spurs, the result ended a run of three successive defeats.

Manager Ange Postecoglou said: “City could have blown us away, they certainly had enough chances.

“We were giving the ball away a lot but hung in there.

“The effort the boys put in there in the second half was outstanding. City never got total control of the game and we scored three quality goals, which you have to against a team like that.”

Postecoglou was asked in his press conference if he thought his side may have “got away with one” over the Haaland incident at the end.

“Yes, I guess so mate,” the Australian said.

Manuel Akanji admits Manchester City need to cut our the errors after being exposed in their comeback victory over RB Leipzig at the Etihad Stadium.

The holders trailed 2-0 after a lacklustre first-half display in Tuesday’s Champions League encounter before a Phil Foden-inspired recovery saw them fight back to win 3-2.

With their place in the last 16 already secure, there was little cause for alarm on the night but, after recent Premier League draws against Chelsea and Liverpool, the champions are not fully firing.

Switzerland defender Akanji said: “We didn’t play well in the first half. We did a lot of mistakes, (in) a lot of duels.

“We had it change it in the second half. We spoke in half-time that we needed to do better. It still wasn’t great but we improved a lot, we didn’t do many of the mistakes.

“It happens sometimes. We didn’t plan to go into the game like this. The first goal was me losing a duel off the long ball, the second one was Ruben (Dias) after the pass and it happens sometimes.

“Normally we don’t do these mistakes but the good thing is we’ve got a good team.

“Now we have important games before the Club World Cup against Spurs and Villa and we need to really focus on these games. We need points because we drew twice so it’s really important to get winning again.”

Akanji was indeed at fault for the first of Lois Openda’s two first-half goals, with Dias caught out for the second.

Foden sparked the comeback when he teed up Erling Haaland to become fastest player to reach 40 Champions League goals in just his 35th appearance.

The England midfielder then scored a sublime equaliser before showing further nimble footwork to set up the late winner for substitute Julian Alvarez.

The victory ensures City, who travel to Red Star Belgrade next month, will finish top of Group G.

With John Stones again not fit enough to feature, Akanji played in the defence-midfield hybrid role his colleague has excelled in.

“I like it,” Akanji said. “I play wherever the manager puts me but also in the Chelsea game and the weekend against Liverpool I felt more comfortable in there because I got used to the position.

“When you come from defence into midfield it’s a big difference because normally you have all the game in front of you and suddenly there are players coming from all angles.

“But I got a better orientation with the game set-up so I felt more confident. I can adapt pretty good. I play in different positions. I try to listen and do what the manager wants from me.”

Phil Foden felt Manchester City were at their worst before recovering from 2-0 down to secure top spot in their Champions League group with a 3-2 win over Leipzig.

The holders trailed to two breakaway Lois Openda goals at half-time of Tuesday’s clash at the Etihad Stadium.

Foden sparked their recovery after the interval, teeing up goals for Erling Haaland and substitute Jeremy Doku either side of scoring a sublime effort himself.

The England midfielder told TNT Sports: “First half was the worst I’ve seen us. Courage and motivation courage changed it around. This team has great mentality and it’s so nice to see.

“We just needed that goal to get going. Even the fans were a lot louder after the goal. Once the first went in the motivation was there. We’ve got a great record at the Etihad and it only takes one goal to change things.”

City’s victory not only made certain of preferential seeding in the last 16 for a seventh successive season but extended their English record unbeaten run in European competition to 19 games.

Manager Pep Guardiola was pleased with that achievement but admitted concern about the performance.

The Spaniard said: “If we talk about the qualification it is a great night. If we talk about the game, we could do better.

“Sloppy goals – in football you have to win duels and it was quite similar against Chelsea. We were solid and now we’ve had two warnings already.

“It’s the same up front. We’ve had chances and missed them.

“But maybe for the future it’s good to win not comfortably, to show we are able to make a comeback.

“When we scored early in the second half, 45 minutes was a long time for them. It was not easy because they defended really well and they were strong, but we are there.

“Now we have five days to recover for the game against Spurs.”

Leipzig’s display was a huge improvement on their 7-0 loss at the same venue last season and coach Marco Rose felt his side were unfortunate not to get more from the game.

Rose said: “We knew we made them angry in the first half. It got more difficult.

“If we kept the clean sheet a little bit longer, maybe then the chance would become bigger and bigger to win or to take something home, but at the end you need a little bit of luck and that is what we missed maybe.

“We played a really good game, but this is City.”

Phil Foden felt Manchester City were at their worst before recovering from 2-0 down to secure top spot in their Champions League group with a 3-2 win over Leipzig.

The holders trailed to two breakaway Lois Openda goals at half-time of Tuesday’s clash at the Etihad Stadium.

Foden sparked their recovery after the interval, teeing up goals for Erling Haaland and substitute Jeremy Doku either side of scoring a sublime effort himself.

The England midfielder told TNT Sports: “First half was the worst I’ve seen us. Courage and motivation courage changed it around. This team has great mentality and it’s so nice to see.

“We just needed that goal to get going. Even the fans were a lot louder after the goal. Once the first went in the motivation was there. We’ve got a great record at the Etihad and it only takes one goal to change things.”

City’s victory not only made certain of preferential seeding in the last 16 for a seventh successive season but extended their English record unbeaten run in European competition to 19 games.

Manager Pep Guardiola was pleased with that achievement but admitted concern about the performance.

The Spaniard said: “If we talk about the qualification it is a great night. If we talk about the game, we could do better.

“Sloppy goals – in football you have to win duels and it was quite similar against Chelsea. We were solid and now we’ve had two warnings already.

“It’s the same up front. We’ve had chances and missed them.

“But maybe for the future it’s good to win not comfortably, to show we are able to make a comeback.

“When we scored early in the second half, 45 minutes was a long time for them. It was not easy because they defended really well and they were strong, but we are there.

“Now we have five days to recover for the game against Spurs.”

Leipzig’s display was a huge improvement on their 7-0 loss at the same venue last season and coach Marco Rose felt his side were unfortunate not to get more from the game.

Rose said: “We knew we made them angry in the first half. It got more difficult.

“If we kept the clean sheet a little bit longer, maybe then the chance would become bigger and bigger to win or to take something home, but at the end you need a little bit of luck and that is what we missed maybe.

“We played a really good game, but this is City.”

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp believes his side passed an important test coming back to draw 1-1 at Manchester City but stressed there will be bigger challenges to come.

The title rivals could not be separated as City failed to capitalise on a number of chances after Erling Haaland’s record-breaking 50th Premier League goal and Trent Alexander-Arnold scored an 80th-minute equaliser.

“For us I think we passed a test today, I am not sure if it was – the – test,” said Klopp.

“Last year with a team that played long together we got completely under the wheels here (losing 4-1) and had no real chance. Today we had a chance.

“I am not silly, I see the game, and if you ask who was more likely to win the game it was City, obviously, but we had our moments and we won games with lesser chances against City.

“We don’t check if we are as good as City but it is not that I look at our side and say ‘That’s the finished article’ because I saw a lot of performances I was not overly happy with.

“It is a super-difficult week (after the international break) so how can you judge that?”

Liverpool were unusually passive in the opening hour and when Haaland brought up his Premier League half-century in only his 48th appearance – 17 quicker than anyone else – the hosts were in full control.

But the visitors improved after the break and after their opponents missed a number of chances Alexander-Arnold equalised with a sweetly-struck shot from the edge of the area.

“I didn’t like the body language too much in the first half,” added Klopp.

“I know it is part of the circus; preparing the most difficult of the season away at the Etihad with just one session is really a challenge.

“Maybe I am just not good enough, that is absolutely possible, but it is really tricky to do it in 30 minutes on the pitch and 45 in a meeting.

“We needed the first half to understand even more about that and we improved in details, which makes a difference, and scored a goal and brought it over the line and I’m very happy with that.”

Injuries to Diogo Jota and, potentially more significantly, goalkeeper Alisson Becker were of some concern, however.

“I hope it is not that serious but I have not clue what it is. He said he only felt a little bit but we have to wait for the scan,” said Klopp of his Brazil international.

The Liverpool manager also played down a post-match confrontation between Darwin Nunez and City boss Pep Guardiola.

“This situation on the pitch is nothing to do with the historical fierce rivalry, I don’t think Darwin Nunez knows anything about it,” said Klopp.

“Just emotions. I was not involved – surprisingly – but I love them both so I just tried to calm the situation down without knowing 100 per cent what happened as I didn’t understand a word.

“Pep wants to win, we want to win and then both didn’t win so no-one is really happy and these things can happen.”

Guardiola also dismissed the incident, noting that Nunez was “stronger than me”, and preferred to praise his side despite failing to close out victory.

“I’m incredibly pleased with the performance because in seven years we know exactly how tough they are and how good they are,” he said.

“We played really good because I know against which team we are playing. They are excellent. I admire Jurgen a lot, he knows that. That’s why after many years, we are able still to do it and be hungry.

“How many chances did we create? Seven, eight, nine? We were incredibly good in all departments. It’s a pity but I said to them (the players) we’re not going to win or lose the Premier League today.

“They (Liverpool) are happy, we are a little less happy. I’m really pleased and so proud of my team.”

Trent Alexander-Arnold cancelled out Erling Haaland’s 50th Premier League goal as Liverpool grabbed a point against champions and title rivals Manchester City on Saturday.

The England international struck 10 minutes from the end of a tight encounter at the Etihad Stadium after Haaland’s landmark strike looked like extending City’s record home winning run.

City had won their previous 23 games on home turf in all competitions, a running dating back to a visit from Everton on New Year’s Eve last December.

Alexander-Arnold’s late equaliser also spared the blushes of goalkeeper Alisson Becker, who had a day to forget having gifted Haaland his opener and committed several other errors.

Haaland had shown no mercy as he netted in the 27th minute, reaching his half-century of goals in the competition in just his 48th appearance, a new record.

Alisson, who was in goal for Brazil in their controversial game against Argentina in Rio on Wednesday, looked sluggish from the start.

He presented Phil Foden with an early opportunity when he gave the ball away but escaped as the England midfielder shot tamely.

At the other end, Ederson palmed away a Darwin Nunez header but Alisson had another worrying moment when he dithered on a back pass and had to scramble clear under pressure from Haaland.

Haaland made sure he was punished when he blundered again.

Firstly Alisson slipped as he attempted to launch the ball upfield and found only Nathan Ake, who charged through some weak challenges to feed Haaland.

The Norwegian scuffed his shot slightly but it was still too powerful for Alisson, whose weak hand to could not prevent it finding the bottom corner.

Nunez hit the side-netting from a tight angle as Liverpool responded but the visitors were unable to consistently trouble City.

The champions threatened again before the break but this time Alisson did well to push away a low effort from Foden.

City went close again after the restart when Julian Alvarez spurned the chance by blazing over after good work by Jeremy Doku.

Liverpool struggled to muster a meaningful threat with Virgil Van Dijk’s header from a corner not troubling Ederson.

Alisson was given a major reprieve after another howler. The Brazilian spilled the ball from a corner under little obvious pressure and Ruben Dias poked in but the goal was disallowed for a foul by Manuel Akanji.

Liverpool made the most of the let-off to equalise on 80 minutes with Alexander-Arnold’s fine strike.

Mohamed Salah laid off on the edge of the box and the England international took a touch before drilling a shot across goal into the bottom corner. He celebrated by putting a finger to his lips in front of the City fans.

City applied plenty of late pressure with Alisson, who appeared injured, struggling to clear his lines.

Haaland almost grabbed a winner in the eighth and final minute of stoppage time but his glancing header flew narrowly wide.