Guardiola and the comparison of Haaland to Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo

Pep Guardiolatechnician City of Manchesterwarned the day before facing the Copenhagen in Champions League of the difficulty of the first round of 16 matches and predicted a more even match than it seemed a priori.

“I have great respect for what they have done this year. We have to be mentally prepared, it is going to be a very close game. We will suffer. “this is how i feel”he declared at the press conference before the meeting.

Guardiola He used his time as Barcelona coach to warn of the danger of a match “where you might not be in the rhythm of the tournament” and highlighted that he “always” has “great respect” for that opportunity.

“Copenhagen was very good in all games. “We have to try to achieve a good result tomorrow and figure it out later in Manchester.”said the Catalan coach, who did not want to speculate on how the two-month absence due to the winter break of the Danish league might affect his rival.

Guardiola praised Copenhagen, especially their low block defense and high pressing, as well as their physicality, and highlighted the “personality” with which they played in Munich in the group stage to earn a draw against Bayern.

He also did not withhold praise when referred to Erling Braut Haalandwhom he described as a “great competitor” and recalled that “he helps us with a lot of things, he doesn’t have to score goals.” “He has a special mind, his numbers are incredible. Even Messi or Ronaldo at his age did not score as many goals as he did” he owns

Guardiola also pointed out how his side have progressed in the competition since his arrival at the club until finally winning it for the first time last year.

“Years ago I thought that maybe this tournament was too much for us, but all these experiences helped us. We played two finals and one semifinal in three years. Now we are all believe we can do it. That is our best inheritance,” he declared.