Pep Guardiola reveals what he told Jan Paul van Hecke after Erling Haaland split

Pep Guardiola has spoken about his post-match chat 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 dived late to claim victory.

Joao Pedro equalized for Brighton late in the second half, the Brazilian striker pouncing on a loose ball to score. Matt O'Riley scored the winner on his Premier League debut eight minutes from time to claim all three points for the hosts.

City huffed and puffed in search of a spectacular leveler in stoppage time, but failed to land the killing blow. At one point, there was a clash between Haaland and Van Hecke, resulting in both players receiving yellow cards.

They fought as they got back up before Van Hecke fell to the ground, causing a brief brawl 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 said to the Brighton defender, Guardiola said: “He was strong with Erling. I said: 'When Erling stands up to you, stay on your feet, don't go on the grass'. But he played a very good game.

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

Jamie Redknapp was very critical of City's second half performance, telling Sky Sports: “I was thinking about the second half, and I watched Manchester City a lot, I've admired them for so long but this is one of the worst halves of football I've seen from Pep Guardiola's side.

“They were abject, they didn't defend, they didn't win individual battles and they didn't move the ball forward. They were excellent in the first half, in the middle -time, they should have been three goals ahead.

“In the second half, when he made the substitutions, there was only one team that was going to win. When the game starts to get away from you, you look at the characters. Who is going to dig? Who is going to take the ball when you need it most?

“There was no one to do it. The two centre-backs are not a regular partnership and it showed. They looked like a bunch of strangers. The goals, they were really poor from a Manchester City point of view. “

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