Manchester City are not at Barcelona’s level yet, says Pep Guardiola
Pep Guardiola believes Manchester City are inferior to Barcelona, saying his team have to dominate for at least a decade to be considered at their level.
City host Basel in Wednesday’s Champions League last-16 second leg holding a 4-0 advantage. Yet despite being virtually through to the quarter-finals and impressing throughout the competition Guardiola is adamant they remain below the quality of Barça, five-times winners of the competition.
“They have won a lot in the past. We are new – we’ve won one title [the League Cup] but it is not a [fair] comparison,” Guardiola said. “It is not good for us comparing [ourselves] with that Barcelona team. That team dominated the last decade, 15 to 20 years with different managers, different players. We have just won the first title. To join this kind of team you have to be there a long time.”
On Tuesday Mike Riley, the head of Professional Game Match Officials Ltd, met Txiki Begiristain, City’s sporting director, regarding Guardiola’s concerns about some of the tackles on his players this season. Yet the manager also warned his team they cannot afford the kind of tackle that caused Fabian Delph’s sending off in the FA Cup defeat at Wigan or Oleksandr Zinchenko’s on Victor Moses in Sunday’s win over Chelsea, which drew a yellow card.
“At Wigan one action, the red card. Zinchenko on Moses, it’s orange – could be yellow, could be red. If it is red, you are out of the Champions League,” Guardiola said, before pointing to the value of European pedigree.
“Real Madrid [12-times winners] before the first game against PSG it is: ‘Oh Madrid is not good, not playing well.’ They win 3-1,” he said. “It is different competitions. We have a big chance to be in the quarter-final for second time in our history.
City host Basel in Wednesday’s Champions League last-16 second leg holding a 4-0 advantage. Yet despite being virtually through to the quarter-finals and impressing throughout the competition Guardiola is adamant they remain below the quality of Barça, five-times winners of the competition.
“They have won a lot in the past. We are new – we’ve won one title [the League Cup] but it is not a [fair] comparison,” Guardiola said. “It is not good for us comparing [ourselves] with that Barcelona team. That team dominated the last decade, 15 to 20 years with different managers, different players. We have just won the first title. To join this kind of team you have to be there a long time.”
On Tuesday Mike Riley, the head of Professional Game Match Officials Ltd, met Txiki Begiristain, City’s sporting director, regarding Guardiola’s concerns about some of the tackles on his players this season. Yet the manager also warned his team they cannot afford the kind of tackle that caused Fabian Delph’s sending off in the FA Cup defeat at Wigan or Oleksandr Zinchenko’s on Victor Moses in Sunday’s win over Chelsea, which drew a yellow card.
“At Wigan one action, the red card. Zinchenko on Moses, it’s orange – could be yellow, could be red. If it is red, you are out of the Champions League,” Guardiola said, before pointing to the value of European pedigree.
“Real Madrid [12-times winners] before the first game against PSG it is: ‘Oh Madrid is not good, not playing well.’ They win 3-1,” he said. “It is different competitions. We have a big chance to be in the quarter-final for second time in our history.
Source:
theguardian
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