Pep Guardiola has declared Liverpool "the strongest opponents I have faced in my career as a manager" after Manchester City shipped an early lead in this season's title race.
City are pursuing a third consecutive Premier League crown but a shock 3-2 loss at Norwich City last weekend – their first top-flight loss since January – left them five points shy of Jurgen Klopp's men, who have won five out of five in 2019-20.
As the two sides engaged in a titanic battle last season, City eventually prevailing on 98 points to Liverpool's 97, Guardiola said the Reds ranked alongside the Barcelona side of 2014-15 and their forward line of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar when it came to considering his strongest foes.