Mauricio Pochettino has praised Pep Guardiola ahead of Manchester City’s Premier League match against Chelsea.
After seeing his current side beat his old club, Tottenham Hotspur, 4-1 on Monday evening, the Argentine is now preparing his team for the arrival of the Citizens at Stamford Bridge on Sunday for their latest Premier League fixture.
Looking ahead to the big clash, the Chelsea boss has shared his thoughts on Guardiola and the career path that has taken him to be one of the most successful managers English football has ever seen.
Pochettino hails Guardiola
Speaking in his latest press conference ahead of Sunday’s clash, Pochettino had this to say about Guardiola.
He said: “It all started when he was in Barcelona, and that makes it special and it is special to face one of the greatest coaches in the world. Always it is a fantastic challenge to face a club. Too many memories [of playing City], some good memories, some not so good. It’s a pleasure and it is going to be nice to face him in a game like Chelsea City on Sunday.”
With 839 matches under his belt as a manager in all competitions, the 52-year-old has won 622 of them, culminating in him winning numerous domestic and European titles across Spain, Germany and England.
Last season saw Guardiola win the second treble of his managerial career, helping City win their fifth Premier League title in six years as well as the FA Cup and their first Champions League.
Having played against a Pochettino side on 22 separate occasions, Guardiola has been on the winning side 13 times in total, with five draws and four defeats.
Taking into account how City are currently 12 points above Chelsea in the table as things stand and have scored 11 more goals and conceded four fewer than them, it has to be said that Pochettino’s side could be in for a tough challenge this weekend.
Moving forward, if the City boss can engineer another victory for his side this weekend and then go on to regain the titles they won last season, this will undoubtedly increase his reputation as one of the best managers around.
