Pep Guardiola admits Liverpool have driven his Manchester City side to the limits
Speaking in an interview with Sky Sports‘ Patrick Davison, Pep Guardiola admitted that Liverpool have driven Manchester City to the limits in recent years, and mentioned them as a reason for his team’s success.
Man City were already winning Premier League titles before Pep came in. But what the Spaniard brought with him to Manchester was dominance.
There have been times where they have seemed unstoppable- such as when they amassed 100 points in a single PL season. But Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool keep them humble and along with City, have given the footballing world some of the most exciting title races of all time.
The Reds infamously lost the league title to the Sky Blues back in the 2018/19 season but replied with one of the most dominating runs to the Premier League crown in a campaign impacted by Covid-19 when it first broke out on a global scale.
A rivalry for the ages
Man City then won the title in the very next season, and are now one win away from retaining their championship. Guardiola has claimed that without such competition from Jurgen Klopp, who shared a rivalry with him back when they were coaches in the Bundesliga, his team may not have been so successful.
“We would not achieve what we have without them [Liverpool]. We have our opponent who brings you to the limits, otherwise complacency arrives.”
Klopp has won every major title that Pep has won in England, completing the set this season with an FA Cup and EFL Cup triumph. But what the ex-Barcelona coach has failed to bring to Man City is a European trophy.
Klopp, meanwhile, has led the Reds to three UCL finals- including the one on 28th May against Real Madrid later this month. Pep, meanwhile, lost to Chelsea in the only time his heavyweight City side made it to the last hurdle.
The Reds won the 2019 UCL final against Tottenham Hotspur, while not winning the UCL crown remains the one big glaring hole in Pep’s C.V.
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The ex-Borussia Dortmund manager has extended his stay until 2026 and we can expect this rivalry to go on for a while. Pep and Klopp have exchanged blows a couple of times this season when in front of the mic, but it is the German’s team that is having the season of their lives.
