The Uruguayan got under Guardiola’s skin at full-time (Pictures: Sky Sports)
Pep Guardiola and Darwin Nunez were involved in a heated row following Liverpool’s 1-1 draw at Manchester City, with Jurgen Klopp forced to drag his striker away.
The two sides played out an entertaining and high-quality contest at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday, with the hosts dominating possession and taking the lead just before the half-hour mark through Erling Haaland.
City had chances to double their tally but barely 30 seconds after Alisson made a fine save at one end, Liverpool levelled the scores at the other.
A swift counter saw the ball break to Mohamed Salah, who laid the ball off to Trent Alexander-Arnold on the edge of the area, and the right-back took a touch before guiding a ferocious effort into the bottom corner.
City very nearly snatched all three points at the death but Haaland sent his flicked header just wide of the far post, with none of his team-mates having gambled at the back post.
When the full-time whistle was blown, Guardiola and Klopp shook hands and exchanged pleasantries – with both no doubt feeling they had been involved in an excellent match – before the City boss then went to shake hands with other members of the Liverpool dugout.
The first person he came into contact with was Nunez and after initially shaking hands, the Uruguayan then seemed to complain about something, pointing back towards the pitch.
Guardiola clearly took umbrage with whatever was said, pointing and wagging his finger at the striker as Liverpool assistant Pep Lijnders tried to get him to walk away.
Simultaneously, Klopp escorted Nunez away from Guardiola and could be seen trying to calm him down – though his efforts did not do much good, with the forward pointing and yelling as his manager tried to muzzle him.
Eventually the tension eased and Klopp had a big smile on his face as he shoved Nunez in the direction of the away end, with goalkeeper Adrian and Curtis Jones also having some fun with their team-mate.
Jurgen Klopp played peacemaker (Picture: Getty)
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Guardiola was still clearly rattled though, arguing with a Spanish-speaking member of Liverpool’s backroom team and continuing to point in Nunez’s direction.
The City boss did eventually calm down and shared another little hug and a joke with Klopp on the pitch, before shaking hands with a host of Liverpool players.
Manchester City remain top of the Premier League table after Saturday’s 1-1 draw, but they can be overtaken by Arsenal if the Gunners win away at Brentford in the day’s late kick-off.
MORE : Trent Alexander-Arnold rescues point for Liverpool in draw against Man City
MORE : Pep Guardiola includes Arsenal and Liverpool in five-team Premier League title race
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Jurgen Klopp had to drag the Uruguayan striker away.
