Watch heated moment Pep Guardiola loses it with Brighton star after late clash with Erling Haaland as Man City boss reels from another damaging defeat

Pep Guardiola was caught in a heated exchange with Brighton defender Jan Paul van Hecke after the final whistle of the Seagulls’ 2-1 win over Manchester City. 

The Premier League champions slumped to their fourth successive defeat in all competitions at the Amex on Saturday evening, courtesy of second-half goals from Joao Pedro and Matt O’Riley.  

City had taken the lead during a dominant first half when Erling Haaland found the net for only the second time in six matches. But the Seagulls’ stunning turnaround sees the visitors lose crucial ground in the title race to table-toppers Liverpool. 

After the final whistle, Guardiola – understandably aggrieved by the result – was caught in a heated exchange with Van Hecke, who was involved in a scuffle with Haaland in stoppage time. 

The Spaniard was engaged in a pretty spirited conversation with the 24-year-old and appeared to make reference to the incident at the end of the clash. For his part, Van Hecke appeared to offer a staunch defence of Guardiola’s accusation. 

The defender had been involved in a scuffle with Erling Haaland shortly before the end of the match

City came into the clash off the back of a shock 4-1 defeat to Sporting CP in the Champions League on Tuesday night but Guardiola remained without several key stars due to injury. 

The City boss handed a first Premier League start to youngster Jahmai Simpson-Pusey, while Josko Gvardiol was moved into a central defensive position amid ongoing issues with player availability.  

City have only scored 22 Premier League goals thus far – the same number as mid-table Brentford and Tottenham – from their opening 11 matches but had already blitzed home 28 at this stage of last season.

Furthermore, they have also conceded five more goals than this time last year and their backline is looking jaded ahead of crunch fixtures against Spurs and Liverpool.

The champions could find themselves five point behind the leaders Liverpool if they claim a victory over Aston Villa on Saturday night.