VIDEO: Gianluigi Donnarumma loses it! Man City goalkeeper & smiling Pep Guardiola involved in ugly clash with Sunderland players after frustrating Premier League draw

Tempers boiled over after the final whistle blew at the Stadium of Light. Sunderland, who have enjoyed a memorable return to the Premier League in 2025-26, were delighted to add another point to their tally after more than matching City’s expensively-assembled squad.

Guardiola’s visitors to Wearside were contained for long periods, with few clear sights of goal being enjoyed. Bernardo Silva did see an early effort ruled out for offside, but City largely struggled to break down their stubborn opposition, while enduring the odd scare at the other end of the field.

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Donnarumma produced a couple of important saves to keep Sunderland out and was desperate to see City force a breakthrough in their ongoing title bid. Towards the end of the match, the Italy international took umbrage with unused substitute O’Nien preventing the Blues from taking a quick throw-in.

The pair squared up as the contest came to a close, with the home support taking to chanting “Who are ya” in the direction of City’s colossal keeper. Donnarumma was a little hot under the collar, with taunts from the stands doing little to improve his mood.

Guardiola rushed in to help drag his goalkeeper away from an unsightly melee, with Sunderland captain Granit Xhaka also stepping between the feuding rivals. City’s head coach sought to play the incident down afterwards, telling reporters: “Football happens. Sometimes it happens as it is. [It was] Nothing important. Nobody is hurt, nothing happened.”

Guardiola went on to say of dropping two precious points: “Sunderland are really good, they are so strong, so physical. It’s a tough place to come. In the first half we struggled against their pressing. Then Rodri came on and broke their lines and the second half was excellent. I was very pleased with the performance but we could not convert our chances in the six-yard box. We just missed a finishing touch. It’s a mystery that we could not score.”

City are now four points adrift of leaders Arsenal and will face managerless Chelsea - who sacked Enzo Maresca on New Year’s Day - when returning to action at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.