Pep says Liverpool is his perfect 1000th opponent
Pep Guardiola will take charge of his 1,000th game as a manager when his Manchester City team faces Liverpool on Monday (AEDT) and he says he could not wish for a better fixture to mark the milestone.
"Liverpool have been the biggest rival in this country and it could not be better, to be honest," Guardiola said at his pre-match press conference.
"I think we pushed Liverpool to be better and Liverpool pushed us to be better. That's for sure."
Former Spain midfielder Guardiola is regarded as one of the best coaches of all time, winning a combined 12 domestic league titles with Barcelona, Bayern Munich and City as well as three UEFA Champions League titles and numerous other trophies.
Guardiola spoke of his pride at being inducted into the League Managers Association (LMA) Hall of Fame 1,000 Club alongside 38 other managers who have worked in England including Sir Alex Ferguson and former Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger.
"The journey, the experiences, have been unbelievable," Guardiola, whose first game as a coach was for Barcelona B in the Spanish fourth-tier in 2007, said.
"The numbers are insane," Guardiola, who has won 715 games out of his first 999, said. "It's difficult to reach it, and if I started again I would not reach it.
"It's been a lot of hard work, a lot dedication, passion, love, and in that nobody beat me. I love that game, and I love to scrutinise the secrets of what we can do to opponents.
"Hopefully Sunday [Monday AEDT] we can continue."
On being described as the best manager of all time, the 54-year-old joked: "They are completely right. The influence of every manager has been through history. Of course, I can say I've been part of that because the numbers explain, I've had success and it's been nice to watch my teams.
"But I never started [by] thinking, 'I want to be the best'."
While his overall win rate is more than 70 per cent, Liverpool has been a tough nut for Guardiola to crack since he arrived at City in 2016, first under Jurgen Klopp and now Arne Slot.
He has only won seven of his 24 meetings against Liverpool, losing 10, including home and away last season as Slot's side dethroned City as Premier League champion.
While many of those clashes have been pivotal in title chases, this next game could determine which of the two clubs are more likely to try to chase down Arsenal, which could have a nine-point lead over City by kick-off time at Etihad Stadium.
"If [Arsenal] continue this way, not conceding goals or even clear chances it will be almost impossible [to catch them]," Guardiola, who has won six Premier Leagues with City, said.
"But you always expect you can be better and they can drop points. The only thing we can do is win our games to be close and they have to come here. But of course it's exceptional what they are doing for two or three seasons and every time it's closer, closer. But we are in early November.
"You don't win the title in November, but you can lose it."
Despite the importance of Monday's (AEDT) game, Guardiola said midfielder Rodri, who has just returned from injury, is unlikely to be risked.
