PEP GUARDIOLA hailed Cristiano Ronaldo as one of the best players in history ahead of the Manchester Derby.
But the Portuguese striker’s record against his old foe leaves a lot to be desired.
Guardiola has gotten the better of sides featuring Ronaldo in eight of their 16 meetings.
The pair will go head to head on Saturday when Manchester City make the trip across town to face United and Pep insisted he would be taking no chances.
He said: “I didn’t see the United match (against Atalanta), I’m going to analyse and to see what they are so I know how good they are.
“We saw it last season. They have one of the best players in history, a guy who can be a scoring machine.”
Ronaldo has already bagged nine goals in 11 appearances for the Red Devils this season.
He made a blockbuster return to Old Trafford over the summer after 12 years away from the club.
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During that time he spent nine seasons at Real Madrid, with Guardiola managing fierce rivals Barcelona from 2008-2012.
But their last meeting came with the Spanish tactician in charge of German giants Bayern Munich.
Ronaldo was on the scoresheet twice that day as Real thrashed Bayern 4-0 in the 2014 Champions League semi-final second-leg.
It was a far cry from their first European meeting.
That came as Pep’s Barca overran United 2-0 in the 2009 final, which would mark Ronaldo’s last game for the club before returning this year.
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk