liverpool(C)Getty Images

Man City's Guardola: Liverpool do something no other team does

Man City boss Pep Guardola has claimed that Liverpool do something no other team does ahead of their clash with the Reds at Etihad Stadium on Sunday.

City are currently on course to retain the Premier League title as they sit top of the table with 73 points from 30 matches, one more than second-placed Liverpool.

Jurgen Klopp's side can leapfrog the champions with a win in Manchester, though, and Guardiola is very much aware of the unique threat they will pose.

Article continues below

What's been said?

"In the beginning of the season and then two or three months ago, I said, 'what date is Liverpool? When do we play against them?'," The City boss has told Sky Sports.

"Of course everything is different because we know it's seven games left and we are only one point ahead.

"Winning will not be enough, but it will be an important step. And we know… 'wow, this is the game'. You know it, we know it. So I'm not going to deny it's different to any other game. And the preparations are a bit different, you know, especially because they do something that no other team in all around the world do - the movement they have.

"The threats that they have in front - they had an incredible three players (Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino) and now an incredible five with Luis Diaz and Diogo Jota. Plus Divock Origi who always scores when they need to make decisive goals."

Guardiola went on to insist that whatever the final result may be, he will still head home to put his feet up and catch the last round of The Masters - one of the standout golfing events on the calendar.

"We don't have a proper striker, but it is what it is. We still score a lot of goals in our way, we still concede few, so we're going to continue to do it," he added.

"We have to work on what we need to do, to talk about it and prepare for it. But at the end, I still sleep, wake up in the morning, have breakfast, lunch, dinner…

"So I prepare the training session, then I'm going to rest a little and be completely relaxed in front of the TV, watching Tiger Woods and Tommy Fleetwood."

'Completely different manager'

Guardiola has already delivered three Premier League titles among a whole host of other domestic honours at the Etihad Stadium, but hasn't won the Champions League since 2011, when he was still at Barca.

The 51-year-old lifted two European Cups and three La Liga crowns during his four year stint in charge at Camp Nou before moving onto Bayern and eventually City, and it has been suggested that he hit his peak as a coach with the Blaugrana.

Guardiola has rejected that notion, however, insisting that the experience he has built up over the last eight years has helped him hone his craft.

"When I was in my early years in Barcelona, I was more anxious about everything, more sensitive for everything," he said. "Now I handle situations a little bit more calmer.

"I've learnt a lot at City. I'm a completely different manager and I feel I'm a better manager than when I started out because of the experiences.

"You can't have the same ideas of 12 or 13 years ago, you become lazy, and you are not scared. You don't have the intuition or the desire to think 'oh, maybe we do it like that' even though maybe it will be a mistake.

"Life is about experiences and learning to improve different things."

Further reading

Advertisement