Pep Guardiola in odd backhanded compliment to Liverpool as he names biggest CL threat

Pep Guardiola has named Liverpool as one of the side’s most capable of preventing his Manchester City side from finally lifting the Champions League this season.

The Cityzens served notice of their intentions with a statement 5-0 win over Sporting Lisbon in the first leg of their round of 16 tie. With a quarter-final clash now virtually guaranteed, many are tipping City as this season’s favourites. That’s certainly a tag Peter Crouch is happy to place on Guardiola’s side.

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Guardiola, though, insists he is not getting carried away, especially after a number of near-misses for City. Furthermore, the perfectionist of a manager still managed to pick holes in Tuesday’s win in Lisbon.

And despite their seemingly assured place in the last eight, Guardiola admits he is already wary of Liverpool.

Asked by Peter Schmeichel on which teams can prevent them from winning it, Guardiola did not hesitate.

He said: “Liverpool are six points behind us [in the Premier League]. Liverpool have been our biggest rivals in the last few seasons and was always there as a pain in the a** all the time. They are a fantastic team in Europe.”

City have been dumped out of the competition by the Reds in recent years too. In the 2017/18 campaign,