March 07, (THEWILL) – Pep Guardiola, the manager of Manchester City, has admitted that he has never faced a team as formidable as Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool.
With a 4-1 thrashing of city rivals Manchester United, City regained their six-point lead at the top of the Premier League standings, holding Liverpool at bay after Klopp’s side beat West Ham earlier in the weekend.
THEWILL recalls that Guardiola previously quipped that Liverpool are a “pain in the a**e” because of their dogged determination to contend resiliently in every race, and the City manager admitted after the game that he hopes Klopp feels the same way.
“Hopefully we can say we are a pain in the a**e for Liverpool too,” he smirked. “I said many times the success as a manager is the fact that year after year we still run like we are there to win again, even after three titles.
“We remain humble and continue to play every single game, do it and be there, these guys have done it many, many times.
“To fight with [Liverpool] is one of the biggest achievements of my career. They are outstanding. Liverpool are the toughest opponent I have ever faced in my 12 or 13 years as a manager.”
Guardiola also cautioned City fans not to get carried away with their lead over Liverpool, especially as the Klopp’s team has a game in hand.
“I have the feeling many tight games are going to happen. We are six points [ahead of Liverpool] but it is fake because we have played one more game.
“If we are stable mentally and hopefully recover Nathan Ake as soon as possible and the other guys come back, game by game we will see what happens. My dream is that we will be there until the end.”
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
