Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has stated that winning the Premier League is more satisfying than winning the Champions League title. Guardiola stated that the Premier League was a difficult road ahead of their final league game of the season against Aston Villa.
“A lot of weeks, a lot of games we struggle with injuries, good and bad moments, different situations. The success is being there (in the mix) in the last few years,” Guardiola said on Friday.
Manchester City is vying for the Premier League title with Liverpool, who is only one point behind the league leaders. Liverpool will be hoping that Anfield great Steven Gerrard can somehow tame the City juggernaut.
The Pep Guardiola club has many injuries in the backline and may have a difficult encounter against the 14th ranked team!
“Anxious, nervous? No way,” Guardiola said when asked about if he is nervous about the approaching game.
“If we concede or struggle, come on, try again, continue and do it. It’s the best way to approach this kind of situation. Not ‘what happens if we lose?’” he further added.
Comparing a club like Manchester City and teams with more established history in Europe, Guardiola said that teams with history are always going to enjoy more support.
“The teams with more history have more supporters. It happens in Spain, Germany, Italy. We are outsiders in the last decade,” he said.
“Liverpool fans want to win, I’m not saying all the country are Liverpool fans, but in general they are a team with more titles.
“Liverpool, (Manchester) United and Arsenal have a lot of history, we are new. It’s why we feel it’s a privilege and won’t waste this opportunity to enjoy the 95 minutes,” the manager concluded.
A slight advantage for City
Manchester City will enjoy a unique edge when they face Aston Villa in the Premier League on Sunday.
Pep Guardiola and his players will have had seven days to prepare for their final match of the season after months of having less time to prepare than their opponents due to Champions League and other commitments.
Villa, on the other hand, has hardly had time to recover from their game against Burnley on Thursday night before facing one of the game’s most daunting tasks.