Guardiola urges City to strike early blow against Liverpool
Guardiola's side pipped Liverpool to the Premier
League by one point last season after a thrilling title race went down
to the last day.
The two clubs renew their growing rivalry when
they meet at Wembley in the annual curtain-raiser to the English
top-flight season this weekend.
While City won an unprecedented English treble of
Premier League, FA Cup and League Cup last term, and are the bookmakers'
favourites to win the title for a third successive year, Guardiola is
well aware of the challenge likely to be posed by Liverpool.
Jurgen Klopp's men lost only once in the
league last season -- at City -- and erased the frustration of failing
to catch Guardiola's team by beating Tottenham to win the club's sixth
European Cup in June.Despite a spat between the pair this week when Guardiola hit back at
Klopp's jibe over City's big spending on transfers in recent years, the
Spaniard remains a huge admirer of the Liverpool boss and the team he
has built at Anfield.
"He inspires me in many things. He is a class
manager, a top manager. He's so good and it is an incredible challenge
for me every time I face his teams," Guardiola said.
Guardiola's irritation at Klopp's
suggestion that City are one of a handful of clubs who live in a
transfer "fantasy land" lit the fuse on what promises to be a
fascinating 10-month battle for supremacy between City and Liverpool.
With City yet to win the Champions League and
Liverpool without an English title since 1990, it is possible they would
gladly settle for a trophy-swap this season.
But Guardiola knows Community Shield holders
City could become the first team to win three consecutive Premier League
titles since Manchester United between 2006 and 2009, so he won't
settle for only targeting European glory.
"We won almost every trophy; not all of them. It was quite remarkable," he said of last season.
"We start from zero now – we start again – but we are ready to accept the challenge."
'There are no doubts'
Twelve months ago Guardiola warned of a need to guard against complacency after City's record 100-point haul in 2017-18.
But this year he is taking a softer approach after
being impressed with his players' maturity under intense pressure from
Liverpool.
"We will be nicer this season. These players
convinced me with what they did last season. There are no doubts," said
Guardiola, who may leave Ederson, Riyad Mahrez, Sergio Aguero and
Gabriel Jesus on the bench after their returns from international duty.
"At the end of last season I didn't know how well
we'd handle our success and I think it was incredible what they did last
after 100 points. The target is to keep improving."
For Liverpool, the glamour friendly represents a chance to fine-tune their preparations after an uneven pre-season.
Three defeats and some lethargic displays sparked fears that Liverpool were suffering a Champions League hangover.
Sadio Mane is still resting after the Africa
Cup of Nations, but with Roberto Firmino, Alisson Becker and Mohamed
Salah back in the fold after international commitments, Klopp expects a
more cohesive display at Wembley.
"When you are tired, you are tired, and it's
quite difficult to then play your best football. Now it's getting
better. The quality of the boys who came back, of course it helps," said
Klopp, whose club last won the Community Shield in 2006.
"Because the training was on such a high intensity level in the games sometimes we were really done.
"Unfortunately, we play in public so everybody
could see that. But the Lyon game helped. We were not in doubt about
that but it's nice to get the proof as well."
Guardiola urges City to strike early blow against Liverpool
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