Pep Guardiola teases 'incredible tactics' in response to Champions League critics
Pep Guardiola laughed off suggestions he overthinks his game plans in the Champions League, revealing he is ready to unleash some 'incredible tactics' during their clash with Atletico Madrid on Tuesday.
Guardiola's City have been favourites in Europe's elite club competition in recent years due to their dominance in England but have come up short on the continent.
They've been knocked out by teams like Tottenham, Lyon, Monaco and Liverpool over the years, while last season saw them fall at the last hurdle in the final to Chelsea.
Guardiola has been accused of overthinking his starting XIs and tactics in the big games, but the former Barcelona boss gave a sarcastic but lighthearted response when asked about it.
"In the Champions League always I overthink. New tactics, tomorrow you will see a new one. I overthink a lot, that's why I have very good results in the Champions League. It would be boring if I always played the same way. If people think I play the same against Atletico Madrid and Liverpool, I don't like. The movements are different, the players are all different with different personalities," he said.
"That's why I overthink and create stupid tactics. Tonight I take inspiration and I'm going to do incredible tactics tomorrow. We play with 12 tomorrow!"
Tuesday will be just the fourth meeting between Guardiola and Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone. Two of the three games contested so far were in the 2015/16 Champions League semi-finals, when Atleti knocked Guardiola's Bayern Munich out on away goals.
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