Guardiola: Barcelona Plays Better Than Everyone

Pep Guardiola has nothing but praise for his former side, Barcelona, as Manchester City prepare to face them.

The Spaniard’s Manchester City has been grouped with Barcelona in the group stages KC the UCL.

This will be Guardiola’s third and fourth fixture against Barcelona, since leaving the club. He recorded a 5-3 aggregate loss against the Catalan club in the semifinals of the UCL.

“Is [facing Barca] sooner than I expected? It’s whatever comes your way. We always have to play the best, and there is no one better than them,” the 45-year-old told Catalan radio station Tot Costa.

“The three up front can make you so unbalanced but there is also so much work behind the scenes.”

“How Barcelona play, you note that there is so much work that has gone into it from Luis Enrique, and they will keep doing it in the coming years.

“They are the best and it is a great test for us. We’ve been given this challenge and we have to see what level we bring.

“But [Borussia] Monchengladbach also worries me. Today the Champions League starts in the first stage, not the quarter-finals. You can’t make any errors.

“But it is always lucky to be able to return to Camp Nou and reacquaint yourself with friends.”