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Pep Guardiola once revealed that Liverpool’s potent front three of Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane scared him.
The attacking trio of Salah, Firmino and Mane was expertly assembled by Jurgen Klopp and his staff and it proved to be one of the best front three the world has ever seen.
During the 17/18 season, the likes of Salah, Firmino and Mane were at their best as they caused problems for teams up and down the land.
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Despite just coming off the pitch after a win against Everton, City boss Guardiola instantly switched his attention to the upcoming clash with the Anfield club in the Champions League. The conversation between Guardiola and his assistants was captured by Amazon for their All or Nothing documentary series. You can watch the footage below.
Guardiola said: “The forwards of Liverpool are good.” His assistant, Carles Planchart replied: “Yes Pep, but only it’s just them.”
The City boss then explained why Liverpool’s trio scared him.
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Guardiola continued: “They scare me. They’re dangerous, I mean it. I have a feeling that Salah will play [as a] striker. Salah will play as number nine and Firmino will move towards the wing. He comes here and Salah goes forward. Our wing-back can’t cover their wing-backs.”
Planchart replied: “I notice when they don’t have space, they suffer a lot, like today against Crystal Palace. But we are a team that risks a lot.”
At this stage, another of Guardiola’s assistants, Domenec Torrent added: “I watched our game yesterday when we went there [to Anfield] and lost. They played on another level. If you want to beat them you have to work to do it. If we are at our best, we are better than Liverpool.”
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Guardiola’s fears were realised as City suffered a 3-0 first-leg defeat at Anfield after goals by Salah, Alex Oxlade Chamberlain and Mane sealed the victory.
In the second leg, Liverpool came out on top again as Salah and Firmino helped his side secure a 2-1 win on the night, winning 5-1 on aggregate.
However, that front three has now been somewhat pulled apart as Mane is now at Bayern Munich, whilst the likes of Diogo Jota, Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez have been brought in to provide extra competition.
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City on the other hand have a new addition in Erling Haaland, Sunday’s clash between the two clubs is bound to be another classic.
Who will come out on top? Only time will tell.
Topics: Pep Guardiola, Manchester City, Liverpool, Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane
Marcus Chan