Jan Paul van Hecke insisted that his heated exchange with Pep Guardiola at the end of Brighton‘s win over Manchester City was nothing more than a conversation about his scuffle with Erling Haaland in stoppage time.
‘We were just speaking about the foul at the end in the box. He asked me what happened in the box and I explained.’ Van Hecke said.
‘He congratulated me. I said they had a great team. He is a great manager.
‘You see the way his team played at the end of last season when we lost 4-0.’
The 24-year-old added: ‘I felt like the whole game I was in the rondo. I only have a lot of respect for him.’
Pep Guardiola (left) was seen talking and gesturing to Jan Paul van Hecke (right) after Brighton beat Manchester City 2-1 at the AMEX Stadium on Saturday night
This came shortly after Van Hecke had clashed with Manchester City striker Erling Haaland
Guardiola pictured with his left arm around the waist of Van Hecke during their discussion
The City boss then praised the Dutch defender saying: ‘He’s aggressive and a really really good player.’
Asked about those comments, Van Hecke responded: ‘He said that? Wow, that is good.
‘It’s a proud moment for me. I think he’s the best coach in the world.’
Guardiola addressed the incident in his post-match press conference, saying he told Van Hecke that he should stand up in his altercation with Haaland, noting how he had defended aggressively against him during the match.
Brighton won Saturday’s game 2-1 thanks to second-half strikes from substitutes Joao Pedro and Matt O’Riley.
City – who had earlier led courtesy of Haaland’s 15th goal of the season – have now lost four consecutive games for the first time in the Guardiola era.
