Guardiola praises ‘exceptional’ Man Utd star as Man City prepare for ‘special’ derby clash
Pep
Pep Guardiola has been speaking in his pre-match press conference as Manchester City prepare to face Manchester United on Sunday.
Guardiola will be hoping that his team can pick up an important three points against their local rivals but admitted that Old Trafford is always a tough place to travel to.
“When I was at Barcelona and Bayern and I travelled to England to play at Old Trafford it was always special.
“It’s a special place and here it is special for our fans. But in the end, it is just a football game, not like an FA Cup final or one of the last fixtures of the season where winning or losing can define winning the PL or not.
“There are still 87 points to play for so it is another game and we have to be focused on what we have to do to beat them.”
Guardiola also said that playing Man Utd is always a challenge, despite their inconsistent form of late.
“They are always dangerous. It doesn’t matter who their manager is – and I have seen a few – they are always a tough opponent with the quality of the individuals, the character, the momentum.
“They have the ability not to be on top and then just score goals. We know their quality, no doubts about that.”
“It’s a good rivalry. Each club respects the other. It’s my eighth season here and no issues happened.
“We won games, we lost games. The FA Cup final [last season] was special because we wanted to win because our side it was so important to arrive in Istanbul to do what we have done.”
Man Utd goalkeeper Andre Onana made a last-gasp penalty save against Copenhagen in the Champions League this week to earn his team an important three points.
Guardiola heaped praise on Onana, describing him as an ‘exceptional player.’
“I remember we have a common friend who spoke very highly of him but personally I met Onana in Amsterdam. He’s an exceptional player and is now at United.
“Everyone needs time [to adapt to PL], not just the managers but players, keepers. Everyone. Sometimes people are quicker but I have a high opinion of him as a keeper.
