Pep Guardiola insists Atletico Madrid plays more offensive football that people think and admits he is wary of the Spanish team attacking football ahead of their Champions League game.
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has stated that he is wary with the attacking play of Spanish side Atletico Madrid.
Guardiola’s side will host Atletico Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League tie at the Etihad stadium later today.
Speaking ahead of the game Guardiola insists that he is wary about the attack of the Diego Simeone side.
He added that it might not be obvious to people that Atletico Madrid play more offensively than most people think.
“There is a misconception about the way he (Diego Simeone) plays,” said Pep.
“It’s more offensive than people believe. He doesn’t want to take a risk in the build-up but they are very good in the final third.
“They are so competitive. It depends on the movement of the game and they know how to play at the exact moment.
“The moment of the game, winning, losing, last minute, early minutes, beginning of the start of second half – in these situations, they are very good.
“They want to avoid risk in neutral areas. They are aggressive and when they win the ball, they play.
“Maybe I am wrong but what I have seen, they don’t close up from the back.
“Maybe at times, but not at the beginning. They come for you. They don’t close up. If they can, they will press.
“This has been going on for a while. When Luis Enrique played them at Barca, they pressed.
“If they do the process well, you can beat them. But maybe I am wrong. You see them every week. That is my sensations, and my feeling.
“And when you look at the quality of the players, they can do it.
“They will press and then in other moments switch to different formations.
“They are a very rich team tactically. What can we do to annoy them? That’s what we will do tomorrow and next week.”
Guardiola added that the performance of the Simeone side in the Spanish La Liga shows how good they are.
He insisted that the La Liga has been dominated by Real Madrid and Barcelona for years but Atletico Madrid have shown to the world that they are exceptional in the last decade.
“They are Champions of the Spanish league,” Guardiola said.
“Spain, in the last decade, have had more teams reach the final and win the Champions League. They are the champions. I admire their consistency.
“Twice they win La Liga when normally Barcelona and Real Madrid control it.
“They have been to two Champions League finals which means they know how to handle knock-out stages.
“All the teams are incredibly tough. You face Atletico Madrid or another team who is tough, too.
“It’s a football game, we give everything we have and after we will see who is best to go to the semi-final.
“It’s not about it being enjoyable, it’s about this team, who they are, what we can do to beat them.
“It’s not about ‘this is better than others’- it is what it is. The draw says we play Atletico Madrid.”
And the City boss rejected any comparisons between his team and Simeone’s when asked whether it would be a battle of beautiful football versus ‘ugly football’ over the course of the two legs by a journalist at Monday’s pre-game press conference.
“I won’t talk one second about these stupid debates,” added Pep.
“Everyone tries to win the games, if they win, they will be right, if we win, we are right.
“There are lots of styles in this game, mainly based on the quality of the players.”
