Pep Guardiola showed his sensitive side as he consoled his former plyer Leroy Sane following Manchester City’s elimination of Bayern Munich from the Champions League. The Premier League champions drew 1-1 with the German giants at the Allianz Arena, with Erling Haaland and Joshua Kimmich scoring for their respective sides.
That was enough to ensure City’s advancement to the last four, thanks to a 4-1 aggregate victory. While Guardiola was seen celebrating his team’s victory in Bavaria, he was also being somewhat more magnanimous. Following the final whistle, the Spaniard was seen in the tunnel sharing a heart-warming moment with Leroy Sane.
Leroy Sane in tears after Mane incident, Bayern elimination
Leroy Sane started the game at the Allianz Arena against his previous club and wasted a superb first-half opportunity, rolling his shot wide of Ederson’s goal after a one-on-one with the Brazilian. After the game, he stated that Bayern deserved more and that their exit ‘annoyed’ him.
Meanwhile in the tunnel after the final whistle, Sane and Guardiola exchanged a few words, with the former Manchester City star appearing to wipe his eyes after Bayern’s exit. Guardiola then appeared to check the 27-year-old’s injured lip, which he supposedly got after being punched by teammate Sadio Mane.
It seems of late, Leroy Sane has had to deal with too many things altogether. After Bayern Munich’s 3-0 loss to Manchester City at the Etihad in the first leg, Mane allegedly assaulted Sane. According to reports in Germany, the shocking incident occurred during full-time in Bayern’s dressing room.
Mane and Sane were seen arguing on the pitch after a communication breakdown. The reports claim, the two continued to argue in the locker room, with Mane complaining about the way Sane spoke to him. According to BILD, emotions reached a boiling point when Mane ‘suddenly’ punched Sane in the face. The former Liverpool star allegedly caught his teammate on the lip.
Bayern’s players allegedly separated the two forwards before the situation calmed down. The reported spat is a bad news for Leroy Sane, who has yet to make an impression since moving from City to Bayern in the summer of 2020. The Germany international, at 27, is running out of time to make his mark on the European game. Speaking about his side’s dismantling elimination, Sane told BT Sport after the second leg:
“Today was a good game from us, strong game, I have to score and make it 1-0. City got a lot of pressure, it is tough as we lost first game away 3-0, it shouldn’t have happened, today we could have done a lot, it’s tough for me with a big chance. I think we had good control, won lots of balls in midfield, if I score I would like to know how the game went.
“I know the team quite well and how strong they are at home, if you concede three goals away in first leg it’s tough, they know how to control the game. It’s really annoying how it went especially how we played today, the team played really well and I’m proud of that, we have to keep up the spirit and focus on the league.”