Pep Guardiola paid Sheffield United a huge compliment after watching his side run out narrow 1-0 winners at the Etihad yesterday. An early strike from Gabriel Jesus was the difference in a tight affair, which extended his side’s winning run to an incredible 12 matches. It’s the third successive one-goal victory over the Blades for Guardiola’s men. And the Spaniard was full of praise for Chris Wilder and his side after the match, insisting this is why the Premier League is toughest league in the world.
Pep Guardiola said: “I woke up and went out of my building and told my players this is going to be the toughest game you will play this season,” he revealed afterwards.When you see Sheffield United and this side is, right now, bottom of the league, you realise why the Premier League is the toughest league in the world. We have struggled every season against them. We won 2-0 at home when in the first half they were better. We won 1-0 at their ground, 1-0 this season and 1-0 here. The physicality, what they do. Organisation with Chris’s team is outstanding. For our part our commitment was fantastic. We played well and I am incredibly grateful to my players for the victory that we have. It was so, so difficult but we knew it would be. We conceded field, in the last minutes we have to defend well and we didn’t create much. I give credit to the opponent. It’s not because we were bad. No, it’s because we did what we should do and I am more than pleased.”
