“To play there is not easy”, “So intelligent” – Guardiola lauds 2 unsung heroes for Manchester City against Liverpool

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has hailed two players for their contributions in their Premier League fixture against Liverpool. The Cityzens dominated the Reds as they won 4-1 at the Etihad on April 1.

Guardiola lauded striker Julian Alvarez for his efforts leading the line. The Argentinian youngster had the tall task of replacing Erling Haaland, who missed the game with a groin injury.

When asked if Manchester City line up differently when Alvarez plays instead of Haaland, the Spanish manager said:

"Nothing changes. The quality, football the tactic is players," he said. "With Erling you have something special and Julian is something special as well. The vision to have the second one, play that position to Riyad, he was important first three goals."

He added:

"With the ball he was so clever and so intelligent, he played with national team, world champions, if you aren’t good you cannot play in a world champion team. Thank you so much for the scouting and Txiki [Begiristain] to discover him and for this price. He’s so humble, he made a really good game."

The manager's second appreciation of the day went to John Stones. The defender was presented with the unique challenge of playing in midfield alongside Rodri, a position he has very limited experience in. However, the Englishman performed admirably well.

The Spaniard said:

"It’s not easy for him, he has the quality to play there, it’s different when you see the game in front of you, he’s surrounded by their players."

He added:

"Like a bubble, to play there is not easy. He has a lot of personality, alongside Rodri and Ruben [Dias] and Nathan [Ake] help a lot. He played really good."

Manchester City will next face Southampton away on April 8 in the Premier League.

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Pep Guardiola sets new record as Manchester City thrash Liverpool

The Spaniard became the fastest to 100 Premier League wins.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has made history in the Premier League as his side beat Liverpool 4-1 on Saturday.

The Spaniard became the fastest manager in league history to reach 100 wins. He achieved the milestone in just 128 matches, shattering the mark held by former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, who achieved it in 139 games.

The Cityzens went down after Mohammad Salah's early goal against the run of play. However, goals from Julian Alvarez, Kevin de Bruyne, Ilkay Gundogan, and Jack Grealish helped the team to a brilliant victory. With the win, they cut their gap on Arsenal at the top of the table to five points, who face Leeds United at home.