Pep Guardiola, Manchester City coach, spoke about facing Leipzig, on Wednesday, in the first leg of the Champions League final, stressing that the opponent is unstoppable.
Guardiola began today's introductory press conference by talking about why Kevin De Bruyne and Aymeric Laporte were absent from that clash, saying: "It's the disease, I don't know if they will play in the league game this weekend, De Bruyne did not feel well after the Forest game on Sunday, and Emeric was not yesterday, these things are possible."
Turning to the RB Leipzig match: "After the draw I felt that it was a difficult opponent, we know the quality they have enjoyed for many years, they have the culture of young players, signings and a clear style of play with a large number in the middle, in addition to the physical strength in the transitions, and this is like German football, they cannot be stopped, I have a lot of respect for them."
He added: "Last year we suffered with Jesse March and Nkunku, and we lost here, yes we already guaranteed qualification before but we suffered, they qualify every season for the Champions League and have quality, we will play two difficult matches, we will try to provide a level that qualifies us to return to Manchester with a good result."
He commented on the Champions League: "This is a great competition I love, I don't know how far we will go but we are here, qualifying from the group stage is difficult, that's why we want to come out with a good result tomorrow and qualify for the quarter-finals, we try to present our style in Europe."
Guardiola also spoke about his mentality, saying: "If my career ends tomorrow I will be more than happy with what I have done with Barcelona, Bayern and here and in Europe, in that short period of time, in the end fate is written, whatever I did is not enough and that's why I enjoy, after the press conference I will have a good meal and watch the meeting between Real Madrid and Liverpool, and then I will prepare for tomorrow's match."
As for City's level, he added: "We won against Arsenal in London and we are competing very well, we played the highest standards in the last game against Nottingham, I liked it, we did not win because this is football, we trained today and it does not mean that we will win, but I have a good feeling."
Given that opponents expect City's way of playing more in Haaland's presence, he concluded: "It's not about him but about the process as a whole, specifically getting the ball to him, we have to have a lot of running in the final third, I'm not a fool to say that Bernardo is a left-back, but he can play there, and in the face of one player with another, he is able to defend."