Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has made a controversial claim about what has helped Liverpool go all the way to the semi final of the UEFA Champions League for a second year in a row while competing for the Premier League title.
The Manchester City boss has witnessed his team go head-to-head with Liverpool all season in a marathon of a title race which appears to be going right down to the wire even though the current champions remain the favourites.
Jurgen Klopp’s men were boosted in their hopes of winning the Champions League as one of the competition’s main contenders, Man City, were knocked out by Tottenham Hotspur in the quarterfinal.
The Reds are still just one point behind Manchester City in the race for the Premier League title and with only a few games remaining, there is still some hope of the club completing a potential double.
But Pep Guardiola has fired a slight dig at Klopp’s side by suggesting that Liverpool have only come this far in both competitions because they were knocked out of the League Cup and FA Cup very early.
“When that happens in November, December, January, February that helps a lot,” said the Catalan, as per the Liverpool Echo
“That happened for Liverpool. In that period it was better for Liverpool than us.
“But to be involved in the Champions League semi-finals – you are not tired. You do not feel any pain. That is a better position to be in, to be in the semi-finals.
“The toughest months in this competition are December, January, February when they had two weeks in training camps and we had to be here playing every three days. That is a big advantage for the opponent.”