Pep Guardiola on what he wants people to stop saying about Liverpool

Manchester City return to Champions League action on Wednesday night and in his pre-match press conference boss, Pep Guardiola was asked about the club’s previous European campaign in which they were knocked out in the quarterfinals by the Reds. “I think last season against Liverpool, I reviewed the game and we did quite well,” he said. “I don’t have many regrets. People said it was a shock - it was Liverpool my friends. “When people say it would be an incredible achievement for Liverpool to win the Premier League, it’s Liverpool! Incredible trophies in their backroom. For us, it’s nice to be there every season and fight with them - especially the last two seasons.” Guardiola said that a genuine title race this time around could benefit his side in their pursuit of European football’s biggest prize. “You never know,” he added. “I would like to be 10 or 12 points in front of Liverpool, honestly, but that’s not normal. “I believe the team after three seasons are doing better things than the first season. We’ve been together a long time and we know each other better. But this competition is special. The teams are good, the atmosphere, you have to suffer the bad moments, survive them and in the right moments make the difference. We arrive with many dreams in our heads. “In 12 games we won 11 and you can lose once. The players are quite well and it’s a challenge for us. You cannot go through if you are not yourself if you do not give your best performance. You will be out sooner or later. “In the quarters if you want to go through you have to be yourself every minute, impose your game and after we will see. I want us to be ourselves. It’s a challenge and I’m delighted to face it.”

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