Guardiola reveals talks with Klopp after Premier League showdown

Pep Guardiola revealed he held talks with Jurgen Klopp after Manchester City and Liverpool locked horns on Sunday.

Guardiola and Klopp held talks over the Premier League’s decision to not continue allowing five substitutes in a game.

The pair met at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday as Manchester City and Liverpool played out a 1-1 draw after Gabriel Jesus scored just past the half-hour mark to cancel out Mohamed Salah’s 13th-minute penalty.

But for the coaches, the one point shared in Manchester was perhaps the least of their worries over the weekend.

The five-substitution rule, which had been in force since football restarted in June after lockdown, is no more after Premier League clubs voted against continuing the rule back in August.

But for sides like City and Liverpool, who have to contend with midweek European fixtures, it’s an unwelcome change and one that has left their managers unimpressed.

Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp have called for a change in Premier League scheduling.

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“We talked about five substitutions,” Guardiola told the BBC on what he discussed with Klopp.

“If people want to give microphones so we can give our opinions… English player, right-back is injured. There are many guys with many, many cases. Around the world five subs are key, but here it’s totally the opposite. We’ve talked about this many times.”

Klopp, for one, has even more reason to be frustrated after Trent Alexander-Arnold limped off just past the hour-mark against City.

The Reds full-back is a doubt for England over the international break and will undergo a scan on Monday to determine the extent of his injury.

Guardiola added to Sky Sports: “Trent Alexander-Arnold, international English player, now injured.

“Here we believe we are more special, we don’t protect the players, so that is why it is a disaster. This calendar came from a year before and I will demand for players to come back otherwise it will be difficult to maintain it.”