MICAH RICHARDS was stunned at Pep Guardiola’s decision to speak to Kevin De Bruyne on the bench after the midfielder’s angry reaction to being substituted against Liverpool.
De Bruyne, 32, who assisted John Stones’ opener in their 1-1 draw at Anfield, was replaced by Mateo Kovacic in the 69th minute of the huge clash in the Premier League title race.
Pep Guardiola explained his decision to substitute Kevin De BruyneAP
De Bruyne was clearly upset at being taken offAP
Sky SportsGuardiola sat next to De Bruyne and spoke to him following their altercation[/caption]
As he made his way off the field, De Bruyne appeared to be angrily gesticulating with Guardiola about the decision to bring him off.
The Man City boss was then seen later in the match attempting to reason with the Belgian on the bench as he sat next to him and conversed once more.
This was something ex-Man City defender Richards was shocked by as he had never seen the Spanish coach do that before.
Speaking on The Rest Is Football, he said: “I’ve never seen that before, Pep usually just leaves them.
“It shows you how important Kevin De Bruyne is to this team, doesn’t it? I’ve never seen him do that ever with any player.
“There was a couple of instances where Aguero got subbed, Aguero wasn’t happy. I didn’t see him go over to Aguero.
“It just shows you how important he thinks Kevin De Bruyne is to this team.”
Gary Lineker, who described it as an “unusual” moment, then added: “He’s obviously a leader in the dressing room as well. You want to keep the leaders on board, don’t you?”
CHELTENHAM BETTING OFFERS – BEST FREE BET DEALS FOR THE FESTIVAL
Guardiola discussed De Bruyne’s angry reaction during his post-match interview.
And he insisted he was pleased with the playmaker’s desire to remain on the pitch.
When asked about De Bruyne being upset, he said: “That’s good, that’s good. He’ll have a chance next game to prove how wrong I was. It’s fine.
“We have a player who keeps the ball, it’s not about pressing.
“That is why Mateo is really good with that and [we put] Bernie [Bernardo Silva] in a central position with Phil [Foden] – in some positions he can keep the ball and make an extra pass when we arrive to the box.
“So look what happened with Phil, two or three times he arrived in the final third because I know in central positions Phil is extraordinary.”
De Bruyne has contributed two goals and 12 assists in 12 games since returning from injury in January.
Next up for Man City is an FA Cup quarter-final at home to Newcastle on Saturday.
They then host Arsenal in a crunch clash after the international break on March 31 as they look to overhaul the league leaders – who sit one point above them.
Sky SportsGuardiola was pleased De Bruyne was not happy at coming off[/caption]
Micah Richards was shocked Guardiola opted to speak to De Bruyne on the benchGetty