Pep Guardiola is convinced that midtable Liverpool remains Manchester City바카라s biggest threat in the Premier League this season ahead of their game at Anfield on Sunday. (More Football News)
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has only managed one win at Anfield since taking charge of City in 2016 바카라 a 4-1 victory in 2021.
Pep Guardiola is convinced that midtable Liverpool remains Manchester City바카라s biggest threat in the Premier League this season ahead of their game at Anfield on Sunday. (More Football News)
The City manager has warned his players they face defeat if they are as 바카라soft바카라 as they have been in recent encounters with their rival.
Second-place City sits 13 points ahead of Liverpool, with Jurgen Klopp conceding his team is not in contention for the title after its early-season struggles. But Guardiola insists last season바카라s runner-up is still the main challenger to defending champion City.
바카라Always has been, always it is and always will be,바카라 Guardiola said Friday. 바카라I know the quality they have, they know the quality we have. So if I was asked this question with five or 10 games left, I will say I think Liverpool cannot catch the top of the league 바카라 in that case Arsenal.
바카라But being in the position that we are, with the World Cup, everything can still happen.바카라
Guardiola has only managed one win at Anfield since taking charge of City in 2016 바카라 a 4-1 victory in 2021 with no fans allowed because of COVID-19 restrictions.
But Guardiola dismissed suggestions that Anfield, and its famously intense atmosphere, has been a significant factor in his struggles to win there.
바카라Of course the crowd is involved in every stadium, but basically because they have a good team,바카라 he said. 바카라It is one (of) the biggest ones (for atmosphere), the nicest ones, and it바카라s a joy to be there ... But as I said before it is a football game, it바카라s Liverpool and what is important is the quality that they have.바카라
Liverpool beat City 3-1 in the Community Shield in August and also won 3-2 in last season바카라s FA Cup semifinals.
바카라Maybe in the last two games we were a little bit soft for different circumstances,바카라 Guardiola said. 바카라You have to win duels. When they push you, you have to push. When they are there, you have to be there. The semifinals of the FA Cup, it was tough to recover the incredible effort we had done in Champions League. In the Community Shield, still we were not ready. They were in one pace higher than us and without that, against that team, you cannot compete.바카라
Meanwhile, Klopp says Liverpool cannot afford to concentrate too much on City striker Erling Haaland, who has scored 20 goals already this season.
바카라Like always when you play against the best striker in the world, you have to make sure he doesn바카라t get that many balls,바카라 Klopp said. 바카라But against City the problem is if you close Haaland down with too many players, then you open up gaps for all the other world-class players, so that will not make life easier.바카라