Manchester City could become the next Barcelona under Spanish master tactician Pep Guardiola. This is according to the outspoken Barcelona defender Gerard Pique.
Barcelona face the English giants at the Nou Camp on Wednesday for their Champions League Group C fixture. Speaking ahead of this match, Pique told reporters at a media conference that his former manager Pep Gaurdiola has already made an impact at his new club. He said:
"These games are big matches, games in which we need to give the most. We will be playing against a very different City to the one from previous seasons.
"Pep is in charge and has changed things. I think City are a different team to last year and all the years they came here with Pellegrini. Their style is different. They pressure high. I think they try to play more or less like us. Pep understands football the way we do. It will be a very challenging game and I hope we can win.''
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Pique then added:
"Pep marked all of us who worked under him. We understand football in a different way ever since he was with us. He changed the history of the football club.
"The game will be a challenge. City play very similar to us. They will be pressuring. It will be a good challenge to demonstrate we are still on top by winning.’’
The Catalan manager joined the Etihad stadium side over the summer. He has since steered them to eight league matches, winning six, losing one and drawing once. With a 75% winning percentage, the 45-year-old has been tipped to steer the Sky Blues to league glory at the end of the season.
Barcelona are still unbeaten in their group so far in the campaign. They sit at the top of the group with six points from two games, followed by Man City who have four points out of two rounds of matches. Scottish giants Celtic come third with a single point, as German outfit Borussia Monchengladbach seal the group with no point after two games.
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