Richard Buxton: A defining week for Pep Guardiola and Man City

Richard Buxton: A defining week for Pep Guardiola and Man City

The New Paper - Sports·2021-09-28 09:00

Just when Pep Guardiola thought he had finally seen off one nemesis, more resurface.  

Manchester City's win over Chelsea last Saturday removed a troublesome monkey from their manager's back, only for more to lie in wait.

Never will the Catalan have faced such an amalgam of enemies than when his side take on Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League tomorrow morning (Singapore time).

He was previously unstinting in a personal view of the favourites for Europe's elite club competition.

On each occasion, the answer had always proved the same: Whichever team have Lionel Messi.

Until this summer, that automatically translated to Barcelona.

Now that his former pupil is lining up for Les Parisiens, however, Guardiola has tellingly stopped short of tipping the Argentinian for the crown again under his new employers.

PSG's evolution into football's answer to the Avengers saw them hoover up its most coveted talents on a pittance as they strive for long-awaited Champions League glory.

Messi returned to training yesterday after a bruised knee and could feature in the Group A encounter - a reunion with his career's greatest influence.

But, beyond the six-time Ballon d'Or winner, the hosts still possess other players with a strong working knowledge of what it takes to truly punish Guardiola and his charges.

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