“He spoke about my kids” - Lip reader believes Kyle Walker threatened to knockout Neal Maupay after alleged controversial exchange
Details of Kyle Walker and Neal Maupay's fiery exchange during the Premier League clash between Manchester City and Brentford have surfaced on social media.
The Cityzens closed the gap down on league leaders Liverpool to two points with a convincing 3-1 win. Phil Foden bagged a hat-trick (45+3', 53', 70') at the Gtech Community Stadium.
Maupay scored The Bees' solitary goal in the 21st minute of the match. The French striker, however, was involved in a fiery exchange with City's Walker. A lip reader has revealed that the Manchester City full-back complained to the referee that Maupay provoked him by talking about his kids. Walker reportedly threatened to knock the striker out.
Kyle Walker allegedly told the referee (via CentreGoals):
"I'm gonna knock him out. Ref, he spoke about my kids, not once, but twice."
Referee Jarred Gillett had a chat with Maupay regarding the issue. The striker, though, acted like a confused figure when he looked back at Walker.
Both Pep Guardiola and Thomas Frank remained tight-lipped regarding the incident. When asked about Walker's angry reaction, Guardiola said (via talkSPORT):
"Nothing happened."
Brentford boss Frank responded to the questions, saying (via Metro):
"I saw them [Walker and Maupay] talk to each other, yeah. No [I’ve not spoken to Neal], that’s not my first focus after a game we lost. I know I need to talk to you guys. I’ll focus more on the football side if that’s OK."
Manchester City right-back Kyle Walker's game against Brentford by the numbers
Kyle Walker started the game against Brentford and played the full 90 minutes. He made one clearance for Manchester City and won two ground duels.
Walker was adept as always with the ball, completing 72 out of his 84 attempted passes. He made two key passes and completed one cross and three long balls. Walker also had a shot on target.
This season, the 33-year-old England international has made 29 appearances for the Cityzens across competitions, registering three assists. Kyle Walker has started all of those games.