Napoli best side I have faced in my career, says proud Pep Guardiola after Manchester City win
Premier League leaders hold on for 2-1 Champions League victory against Italian pacesetters
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola described his side’s 2-1 victory over Napoli in the Champions League group phase as one of the proudest moments of his storied career.
City took a quick-fire 2-0 lead in Tuesday’s game through Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus, but Amadou Diawara’s penalty – after Dries Mertens had squandered an earlier spot-kick – made for a nervy finale.
Before the game Guardiola had lavished praise on Maurizio Sarri’s Napoli, who are top of Serie A with eight wins from eight games, and afterwards he made the surprising claim they were the best opponent he had ever faced.
“I think it was an extraordinary game from both sides. We faced one of the best sides I faced in my career, probably the best,” said Guardiola, who previously led Barcelona to two Champions League titles.
“It is one of the wins I am most proud of in my career.
“Today we won against an incredible team. To do that you have to do an incredible performance.”