Guardiola: No one plays better than Barcelona

Pep Guardiola was full of praise for Barcelona boss Luis Enrique, insisting no one in world football plays better than the Spanish champions. 

Guardiola will come up against his former side Barca after Manchester City were drawn against them in the group stage of this season’s Champions League. 

It will mark the third and fourth time he will face the Catalan club since departing at the end of the 2011-12 season, having come up against them as Bayern Munich boss in the semi-finals of the Champions League two seasons ago, losing 5-3 on aggregate.

Guardiola said it will be a tough test once again this time, especially considering the attacking talents of the famed ‘MSN’ trio of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar. 

“Is [facing Barca] sooner than I expected? It’s whatever comes your way. We always have to play the best, and there is no one better than them,” the 45-year-old told Catalan radio station Tot Costa. 

“The three up front can make you so unbalanced but there is also so much work behind the scenes.”

He added: “How Barcelona play, you note that there is so much work that has gone into it from Luis Enrique, and they will keep doing it in the coming years.

“They are the best and it is a great test for us. We’ve been given this challenge and we have to see what level we bring.

“But [Borussia] Monchengladbach also worries me. Today the Champions League starts in the first stage, not the quarter-finals. You can’t make any errors.

“But it is always lucky to be able to return to Camp Nou and reacquaint yourself with friends.”