“We had problems, of course” - Guardiola identifies ‘extraordinary’ thing in Hansi Flick’s Barcelona after Manchester City lose pre-season clash
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola gave a shoutout to his Barcelona counterpart Hansi Flick following his team's shootout defeat in a pre-season friendly in Orlando on Tuesday (July 30).
Pau Victor opened the scoring for Barca before the Cityzens equlised through Nico O'Reilly. Flick's side were back in front on the cusp of half-time through Pablo Torre, but Jack Grealish's 60th-minute strike forced penalties, where City fell short.
Nevertheless, Guardiola was all praise for Flick's side, especially Victor and Torre (Mundo Deportivo via Barca Universal):
“I really liked them. The season is long, but I liked them. The positional play is extraordinary, the wingers play as wingers, the inside players get forward, the full-backs attack in space.
“We had problems, of course. Every time they came forward they scored against us. It’s normal, we’re very young.”
Flick also had good words for City, lauding the quality of the opposition:
“We were really good against a great team. We defended together and attacked together, as a team, and that’s what we want. We fought for each other.
“Maybe in the first half, we were too deep, our idea is to be a bit more forward, we need more possession, but we play against Manchester City."
It was City's second straight defeat of the pre-season following their 3-2 defeat to AC Milan in New York on Saturday (July 27).
What's next for Manchester City and Barcelona?
Following their second straight reverse in pre-season during their ongoing tour of the United States, Pep Guardiola's Manchester City next take on Chelsea in Ohio on August 3 to ramp up their preparations for the new season.
Meanwhile, Barcelona continue their pre-season against arch-rivals Real Madrid at the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford on the same day before taking on AC Milan three days later in Baltimore.
City open their 2024-25 campaign with an FA Community Shield clash with Manchester United on August 10. Meanwhile, Flick's Barcelona open their new La Liga campaign at Valencia seven days later.