'This is weird' - Pep Guardiola cannot shake Man City concern in Champions League

Pep Guardiola was thrown off

Most would be at being compared to a famous Catalan architect, but questions about his favourite artwork a few minutes after he’d stepped off a plane were enough to make the Manchester City manager cautious. And he is already cautious enough.

City under Guardiola had become the masters of the group stage, knowing exactly how much effort they have to put in to top their group and box off the competition between December (or earlier) and February when the knockouts start. That stability helps everyone to plot the course of the season.

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This is different though: eight games, eight different opponents and one 36-team league table. It’s little wonder that a man as bothered about detail is less than comfortable with the newfound uncertainty, never mind walking into an arts press conference.

"I want to say something honest; with this start of the press conference [it seems like] we are going to play a friendly game tomorrow. I'm a little bit concerned about that in terms of the questions about Gaudi and this kind of thing," he began.

"It's a competition. With this new format, I don't know exactly how you handle it and how many points you need. Maybe you can finish 13th, 14th or 15th - not qualify in the first eight - and you can win the Champions League.

"At the end, it's a competition. Perform well, improve on the bad things and that's what I like most in my process. I adore to watch the games we have played before and see the good things we have done and what we have to improve and speak to the players. This is what I like still, this