MANCHESTER CITY boss Pep Guardiola has confirmed his deposed champions WILL give bitter rivals Liverpool a guard of honour on Thursday “because they deserve it”.
The Reds wrapped up the title last week when City slipped up at Chelsea.
Raheem Sterling will put bitter rivalry aside as his Manchester City side give Joe Gomez’s champions Liverpool a guard of honour on Thursday, says Etihad chief Pep GuardiolaCredit: �2019 David Rawcliffe/Propaganda. All Rights Reserved.
Guardiola’s City host the Merseysiders at The Etihad in the Premier League on Thursday.
The side were neck and neck last season, when City won the title by a single point.
But the incredible Reds have surged clear this time around.
If the Merseysiders win they will move 26 points clear of their Manchester rivals.
Guardiola confirmed he has ordered his players to give the new champs a guard of honour.
He said: “Of course we are going to do it.
“We are going to do the guard of honour, of course.
“Always we receive Liverpool when they come to our house in an incredible way.
“They cannot complain and, of course, we are going to do it because they deserve it.”
But the Spaniard believes his side have the edge on Jurgen Klopp’s champions – after winning virtually EVERY domestic trophy in the last three seasons.
They won the Prem in 2018 and 2019, the League Cup three years on the trot and only missed out on the 2018 FA Cup to Chelsea before winning it 12 months later.
He said: “A team that wins eight titles (trophies) in the last three years have passion, in every single game, in every competition, everywhere. No one in this country can say that.
“It is so difficult to do what we have done in the most difficult league in the world but you cannot win all the time.
“There was one team that was exceptional and, when one team is exceptional, I say learn from them and congratulate them. It is simple. This team’s passion and desire, it is going and going and going again.”
City can take a step closer to a second successive FA Cup victory with a win over Newcastle in the quarter-finals today.
Newcastle vs Man City FREE: Live stream, TV channel, and kick-off time for FA Cup clash
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
