Pep Guardiola says he considers Chelsea to be one of the best teams in Europe as his Manchester City team gets ready to meet Maurizio Sarri’s side in the Carabao Cup final at Wembley on Sunday.
Despite City’s 6-0 hammering of Chelsea just under two weeks ago, Guardiola claims they are still one of the top teams on the continent.
“They’re maybe one of the best in Europe to make you consistent defensively, the spaces to attack are minor, the movement from Jorginho helps a lot and they have quality players like Hazard,” said Guardiola at his pre-match press conference.
Guardiola also admitted that the 6-0 scoreline from their last meeting will only lend to serve as extra motivation for Sarri’s men this weekend.
“At that moment I was so happy to win 6-0, but today I’d have preferred 0-0. The players and manager will be focused to beat us,” added Guardiola.
Sunday’s fixture will see the first silverware of the season awarded to the victors. City are still battling for an unprecedented quadruple by winning all four competitions they have entered.
On the other hand, a win for Chelsea would do wonders for Sarri and his staff as they battle to rediscover the fantastic early-season form his team displayed.