Arne Slot reveals ‘almost impossible’ task when Liverpool face Manchester City despite victory | OneFootball

Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City side make it ‘almost impossible’ for opposition sides when it comes to one particular department during 90 minutes, Arne Slot has revealed.

That high praise comes despite a significant downturn in Manchester City’s performances throughout the course of the season, although their business during the January transfer window has brought about some fresh optimism and improvement in standards.

Results have somewhat improved in that time too with City now finding themselves in a stronger position when it comes to the chase for the top-four places in the Premier League, and improving their hopes of silverware through the FA Cup.

And while the Premier League champions did fall to defeat in their last competitive home outing at the hands of the expected top-flight winners for this season in Liverpool, Pep Guardiola was left happy with the performance.

Speaking in the aftermath of Liverpool’s 0-2 win over City on Sunday afternoon, Anfield boss Arne Slot admitted that despite the victory, it was known prior to the game that it would be ‘almost impossible’ for his side to have more of the ball than the reigning champions.

“When you play away from home against a Pep (Guardiola) team, it’s almost impossible to have more ball possession than his team has, so we knew we had to defend really well,” the Dutchman told reporters.

He continued, “Manchester City, when it comes to ball possession, is probably the most difficult team to play against because they like it a lot, players that are so comfortable on the ball.

“They only, only chance you have to win here [at the Etihad Stadium] is you defend really well.”

Offering his own thoughts on Manchester City’s difficult season as a whole, Slot was keen to point towards the injuries that have ravaged Pep Guardiola’s squad at various points of the campaign.

“Nobody in the world of football would’ve expected Manchester City not to be so close to the one that leads the league if they’re not leading the league,” he said. “But we all know why; they had many injuries, a difficult period.

“But again today you could see how good they are as a team and how difficult they are to play against.”

Manchester City and Liverpool have now also met for the final time this campaign with the former out of the UEFA Champions League before the last-16 stage, and the Anfield side out of the FA Cup in the fourth round.

Pep Guardiola and his players take on Plymouth Argyle in the fifth round of England’s most prestigious cup competition, as the Championship side hope to inflict another mammoth upset in the tournament having knocked out Liverpool at home in the previous round.