Pep Guardiola complimented Leicester player who was having none of it | OneFootball

Pep Guardiola told Leicester City star Bilal El Khannouss he was very impressed with his weekend performance. However, Bilal was having none of it.

Leicester City headed into their match against Man City with surprising confidence. When lining up against the champions, especially given Leicester's inconsistencies this season, you would've expected them to roll over and accept defeat before the game even kicked off.

However, the conditions heading into this match were different. Man City were one of the worst teams in Europe and Pep Guardiola's breakdown was widely documented, so it was the Foxes who were considered the bizarre favourites in that match.

Lo and behold, Leicester were beaten. However, Bilal El Khannouss put in one of the best performances we've seen in a Foxes jersey.

Pep Guardiola complimented Leicester player who was having none of it

Speaking to the media after the match, Bilal El Khannouss revealed that he had received a compliment from Pep Guardiola. The Man City manager told Bilal directly he was impressed by his performance. However, Bilal was not impressed, considering these are his usual standards.

In his own words, Bilal said: “He (Guardiola) said he was impressed by my play today. I am not. I know myself and this is the player I can be. I have to show that every week now.”

El Khannouss added, in a different interview: “I think it was my best performance since I’ve been here. But I’m not impressed because this is the Bilal I know. I’m really confident. I’m enjoying the game and enjoying the day because we have the best job in the world, to play football."

Footballers, especially in the Premier League, are often viewed as out of touch. Therefore, it's quite refreshing to see Bilal El Khannouss aware of the privilege he now has because of his job, playing football.

It is also quite telling of his standards as a footballer that he was not entirely impressed by his performance against Man City, despite it being his best in a Leicester jersey so far.

We can only hope that holding himself to such high standards means that we will see plenty more from the midfielder.

El Khannouss is establishing himself as a mainstay in this Leicester team. His importance shows, especially in games where Leicester would elsewhere be passive passengers.