Kevin De Bruyne was not best pleased to have been substituted as Liverpool-Man City headed into its defining moments.
De Bruyne threw something of a tantrum having been replaced by his countryman Jeremy Doku after 69 minutes of Sunday’s Premier League clash.
He openly questioned his manager’s decision on his way off the field, with his displeasure clear for all to see.
De Bruyne (32) has had something of a disjointed season having pulled his hamstring on the opening day of the Premier League against Burnley.
Hamstring issues have plagued the playmaker in recent times, with his 2023 season culminating in a serious tear in the Champions League final against Inter Milan.
He returned with a bang against Newcastle back in January, scoring a goal and registering an assist but since then, his comeback hasn’t been as smooth as he may have hoped.
Rather than slotting straight back into the team, De Bruyne’s minutes have been curtailed as, all the while, Phil Foden began to make De Bruyne’s usual position his own.
That’s not to say De Bruyne hasn’t had his moments – he made five assists in one game only a couple of weeks ago against Luton in the cup – and his first half assist for John Stones on Sunday was De Bruyne at his creative best.
But Guardiola saw fit to take him off for the closing 20 minutes on Sunday, and he didn’t take it well.
Speaking on Sky Sports’ coverage of the game, Roy Keane backed the manager’s decision to substitute the midfielder.
“I enjoyed that,” said the Cork man.
“I think it was the right decision. He was off it a little bit.
“Pep is the manager, he has to look at the bigger picture.
“We can’t praise Kevin de Bruyne enough, obviously he’s a world class player.
“He was disappointed. Pep’s gone over to give him a pep talk. But I love the way he (Pep) answered after. Listen, he can can show me the next time how disappointed he is…”
“Nobody likes to be brought off,” continued Keane. “But Pep’s job is to look at the bigger picture, try and get the right result from his team and they’ll recover from that no doubt.'”
After the game, Guardiola said that he ‘liked’ De Bruyne’s reaction, stating that he has the chance in the next game ‘to prove how wrong’ he was.
“That’s good. He has a chance next game to prove how wrong I was. It’s not a problem. It’s fine.”
