Pep Guardiola thinks Sadio Mane’s dressing room bust-up with Bayern Munich teammate Leroy Sane proved ‘conflict’ is sometimes needed in football - and the Manchester City manager reckons it could help galvanise the German side in their bid to overturn a first-leg deficit.
City comfortably saw off the Bundesliga leaders in last week’s Champions League quarter-final tie. Goals from Rodri, Bernardo Silva and Erling Haaland mean Guardiola’s charges take a healthy 3-0 lead into Wednesday’s second leg at the Allianz Arena.
The host's dominance led to an argument between Mane and Sane on the pitch in the latter stages of the game, with things getting heated when they returned to the dressing room. Former Liverpool forward Mane is alleged to have punched Sane, the ex-City winger.
According to reports, teammates stepped in to separate the players and Sane was left with a bruised lip. Mane was dropped from Bayern’s squad for the Bundesliga clash against Hoffenheim at the weekend.
Guardiola was asked about the incident at his press conference ahead of the second leg and admitted he fears it could help bring Thomas Tuchel’s side together.
"Absolutely, sometimes you need conflict to make the team more together, I am pretty sure of that," said Guardiola. "It's not a weak point, it will be a strong point against us."
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Guardiola added: "I know this club perfectly, I can imagine the situation against City; we play there, the players will do their best.
"Bayern will do their best on Wednesday but I am pretty sure what happened there.
"If it was the opposite and we had lost 3-0 and didn't win today and there was some conflict, the team would say it is a final for us and we know exactly what we have to do and we will do it."
Mane, who has scored 11 goals for Bayern this season after his summer switch from Anfield, was fined over £260,000 according to German journalist Florian Plettenberg - a record amount for the club. Plettenburg told Sky Germany: “According to our information, it is an amount that goes far beyond €300,000 (£260,000), so it's a very, very sensitive fine for Mane.”
Bayern manager Tuchel said that such events would not be tolerated by his club but added that the situation has now been resolved.
"It was a heavy incident - it was very important that it was cleared before the next training session," he said. "I've known Sadio for many years - he is a top professional. He's never had a situation like that. He is focused on football, he has my full confidence. Everybody has the right to make a mistake.
"This was too much - he apologised and I believe him. It was important that he stays in training, but he is suspended and he will be fined. I don't know where the money will go, the club and the player will decide. It is not my highest priority.
"It would be nice if things that happened in the locker room stayed in there. We don't need situations like that to prove our squad is alive. We don't tolerate things like that."
