Reds the best rivals for my 1,000th game: Pep

Pep Guardiola takes charge of his 1,000th game as a manager when his Manchester City team host Liverpool on Nov 9, and he says he could not wish for a better fixture to mark the milestone.

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“Liverpool have been the biggest rival in this country and it could not be better, to be honest,” he said ahead of the English Premier League clash.

“I think we pushed Liverpool to be better and Liverpool pushed us to be better. That’s for sure. If I had to choose one rival for this personal milestone, that would be the best.”

Guardiola’s City were involved in two titanic title battles with Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool in 2018-19 and 2021-22 both times City prevailing by a single point.

“Liverpool, especially with Jurgen, have been the biggest rival,” Guardiola added. “I always had the feeling of how much we respected each other.”