'What a nightmare' - Pep Guardiola makes cheeky Newcastle United claim after Man City win
Newcastle United play Manchester City again in the FA Cup in two weeks’ time.
Pep Guardiola has described Manchester City’s upcoming FA Cup fifth round tie away to Newcastle United as a “nightmare”.
Man City edged past Newcastle 2-1 on Saturday night to move two points behind Premier League leaders Arsenal.
The Citizens lost the reverse Premier League fixture 2-0 at St James’ Park but have now won their last three against the Magpies, having won both Carabao Cup semi-finals legs.
Pep Guardiola on Man City’s ‘nightmare’ FA Cup tie v Newcastle United
The two sides meet for a fifth time this campaign in the FA Cup in a fortnight’s time, and Guardiola isn’t exactly pleased about it.
Speaking at his pre-match press conference, Guardiola, unprovoked, said: “I don't know the guy who made a draw against Newcastle but come back again to Newcastle in three weeks, what a nightmare. Honestly, the guy could be nicer to us.”
When Guardiola was told Newcastle felt the same, the former Barcelona boss cheekily suggested the tie should be played at the Etihad.
The Spaniard said: “Yeah, but we have to travel. If they want to come, we'll invite them to play here if they want.
“No, listen, we lost the first game and we won three in a row. It's an unbelievable team. I saw the game in Champions League, 5-0 a half times. The pace they have up front with Anthony Gordon , with the long balls of Woltemade, Joelinton when it happened, the pace in the middle, the physicality, the quality,
“It's an incredibly complete team. It's so, so tough. They put that ball to set pieces and every department is really, really. Today they're man-marking, aggressive, they win duels, but we were there.
“So we learned today, we talked about a lot this last period, so we learned today that is the rhythm, the level of the football, modern football today. That's why the Premier League, all the teams are in Champions League. The rhythm they play and they behave is massive. And yeah, that really pays for the victory today.”
What Eddie Howe has said about facing Man City again
Meanwhile, Howe said: “I think the football changes so quickly, even in a couple of weeks we'll be in a different position, I'm sure, and they'll be in a different position in terms of team and system and set-up, so you never quite know.
“But certainly there's things we adjusted from the cup game that we weren't happy with, and I thought that was a positive few changes for us.
“So, we'll look at it again and we'll try and figure out how we can improve our performance. Certainly, the two goals we conceded would be a big thing that we need to look at.”