Liverpool perfect opponents for 1,000th game, says Man City’s Pep Guardiola
Sign up now: Get the biggest sports news in your inbox
Manchester City's Pep Guardiola is relishing taking on Liverpool for his 1,000th game as a manager.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Follow topic:
LONDON – Pep Guardiola takes charge of his 1,000th game as a manager when his Manchester City team host Liverpool on Nov 9, and he says he could not wish for a better fixture to mark the milestone.
“Liverpool have been the biggest rival in this country and it could not be better, to be honest,” he said ahead of the English Premier League clash.
“I think we pushed Liverpool to be better and Liverpool pushed us to be better. That’s for sure. If I had to choose one rival for this personal milestone, that would be the best.”
Guardiola’s City were involved in two titanic title battles with Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool in 2018-19 and 2021-22 – both times City prevailing by a single point.
“Liverpool, especially with Jurgen, have been the biggest rival,” Guardiola added. “I always had the feeling of how much we respected each other.”
The City boss is regarded as one of the best coaches of all time, winning a combined 12 domestic league titles with Barcelona, Bayern Munich and City as well as three Champions Leagues and many other Cups.
He was proud of being inducted into the League Managers Association Hall of Fame 1,000 Club alongside 38 other managers who have worked in England, including Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger.
“The journey, the experiences, have been unbelievable,” said Guardiola, whose first game as a coach was for Barcelona B in the Spanish fourth tier in 2007.
“The numbers are insane. It’s difficult to reach it and if I started again, I would not reach it. It’s been a lot of hard work, a lot of dedication, passion, love, and in that nobody beat me.
“I love that game and I love to scrutinise the secrets of what we can do to opponents. Hopefully, Sunday we can continue.”
Guardiola has won 715 out of his 999 games and was asked about being labelled the best manager ever.
“They are completely right,” the 54-year-old joked.
“Because the numbers explain I’ve had success and it’s been nice to watch my teams. But I never started thinking, ‘I want to be the best’.”
While his win rate is more than 70 per cent, Liverpool have been a tough nut for Guardiola to crack since he arrived at City in 2016, first under Klopp and now Arne Slot.
He has only won seven of his 24 meetings against the Reds, losing 10, including home and away last season as Slot’s side dethroned City as champions.
While many of those clashes have been pivotal in title chases, Nov 9’s game could determine which of the two clubs are more likely to try to chase down leaders Arsenal.
“If (Arsenal) continue this way, not conceding goals or even clear chances, it will be almost impossible (to catch them),” Guardiola said.
“But you always expect you can be better and they can drop points. The only thing we can do is win our games to be close... We are in early November. You don’t win the title in November, but you can lose it.”
Despite the importance of the match, Guardiola also said midfielder Rodri, who has just returned from injury, is unlikely to be risked. REUTERS
