Pep Guardiola has dismissed suggestions that the Champions League group for Manchester city is an easy one.
After having been paired up alongside some of the best teams in the world even at the group stages, City may be set for an easy ride after being involved in a group containing Feyenoord, Shakhtar Donetsk, and Napoli. However, Guardiola has downplayed expectations by claiming that all the teams have great pedigree when it comes to this competition, while Napoli are of the top three teams in European football at the moment.
Italian outfit Napoli had to reach this stage of the competition after negotiating a qualifier, as they could only finish third in the Italian Serie A last season. City also had a similar finish but in a much higher Premier league competition. City are the overwhelming favourites to reach the knockout stages from this group, but Guardiola knows that his team should be prepared for surprises.
TheCity team were able to make a good start to the season with the wins over the likes of Bournemouth and Brighton. However, Guardiola will know that City will have much bigger challenges coming up against. Last season, the club had a disappointing campaign after failing to win any major honour.
However, they have made a squad revamp after spending more than £ 200 million on several new players.“When the third pot is Napoli – the best team in the pot – it is complicated.In the Champions League we can expect pots one and two will be strong but today all the teams are strong. We’re going to face the team who played the best football in Italy – I’m not talking about winning.I like to watch the teams who want to play. In Italy, where the culture is defensive in the box, they play 40 metres in front a bit like Arrigo Sacchi did once,” said Guardiola.