Paris: Manchester City head coach, Pep Guardiola claimed to be ‘in love’ with Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Marco Verrati, after the Euro 2020 winner provided a stellar performance in PSG’s maiden win against Manchester City in the Champions League.
“I’m in love with him. He is exceptional,” Guardiola said. “Even under pressure, he manages to find those passes that allow the midfield to be free.”
Verrati played a key role as PSG demolish the defending Premier League champions. Talisman Lionel Messi and Idrissa Gueye featured in the score sheet for the Parisians while the Italian did a remarkable job keeping a very talented Kevin De Bruyne at the bay.
“He’s not a player for long passes but you can always count on him to build the game. We managed to control him better in the second half but in the first half he was really exceptional.” added the former Barcelona manager.
Manchester City who were soaring in high spirits after the win against Chelsea were below par against the Ligue1 giants, as even with a talented array of players, they failed to test Paris custodian Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Pep admitted to have difficulties in dominating the opponents mainly Lionel Messi.
“They can take the space,” Guardiola said. “They are exceptional players, like Messi-Suarez-Neymar at Barca. Not many teams can have these players. PSG has them. We can’t control them. I know two solutions: defend and pray or take the ball and create with it.
“It’s hard to control Messi for 90 minutes. It’s hard to stop him and we had to minimize the opportunities for him to touch the ball. Tonight we did what we know how to do, good or bad, but we are what we are. Tonight there was also Verratti who was extraordinary and managed to find connections with Neymar.”
Pep’s City take on Jürgen Klopp’s Liverpool next, at Anfield and the draw will not be an easy one to get away with.
