A recent statement by Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has gone viral, with the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss praising Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri about the “excellent” job that he is doing at the club. The Spaniard further points out the difficulties that the Italian main-man is facing at Stamford Bridge and despite everything, is able to put up a great showing from his team.
Pep had backed Sarri ahead of their clash at Stamford Bridge, which the latter won 2-0 and cut down Manchester City’s lead at the top of the league in the process. It eventually ended the Citizens’ undefeated streak in the top flight of English football, which would have been heartbreak for the fans and the manager too.
However, even before the game was played, the City boss had only good words to say for his rival. This is really good to see, despite the high levels of competition in England.
He stated at his presser, “The job he has done so far, from my point of view, is excellent.”
“People do not know how difficult it is to create a special way to play. You need time, everybody needs time.”
“Apart from the last two games – winning at Tottenham away is so difficult, Wolves too. That can happen in this league.”
He further also talked about the clash between the two sides at the start of the campaign in the Community Shield and how the west London outfit had grown since then. Pep also did talk about the Wolves loss and suggested that things like that can happen in a season, in a competition as intense as the Premier League.
Well, after the loss to Chelsea at the Bridge, hopefully, Pep took this advice himself and the two teams can now look to focus at the task in hand. Both teams are doing well for themselves in Europe and have already secured qualification to the next round.
The Manchester based side have not just qualified for the next round, but will top the table in their Champions League group, with a current goal-difference of +9. They will be facing off against Bundesliga outfit Hoffenheim in the last game of Group F at the Etihad. It will be a must-win game for the visitors, if they wish to keep their hopes alive of qualifying for the Europa League.
On the other hand, the Londoners will be facing off against Vidi in their last game of the Europa League. The home side will have to take back all three points from this match, to ensure that they qualify for the next round. The English giants are already through and will want to keep their good momentum going, after the win over City. Sarri will have the chance to use some of his younger stars in this one.
Though the battle has been won by the ex-Napoli boss for now, the war is still on and it will be interesting to see who is able to win some major titles in the current campaign.
