Pep Guardiola has revealed Luke Shaw is among his favourite players during a glowing assessment of several figures at Manchester United.
Manchester United’s under-18 side suffered defeat against Man City in the FA Youth Cup final on Wednesday night.
With many key figures from United attending the final at the Joie Stadium, Man City’s first-team manager, Pep Guardiola, was also seen taking in the action.
Guardiola was asked to reflect on the match ahead of City’s FA Cup final against Chelsea. He took the opportunity to hail the work of the two United chiefs and some of the first-team players who showed up to watch the youth match.
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Some strong outings despite the loss..
Pep Guardiola hails Jason Wilcox, Omar Berrada and Luke Shaw
The FA Youth Cup final was disappointing for many reasons.
Darren Fletcher was fuming with the FA after the match, given how the final was held at the Joie Stadium on top of City’s over-the-top celebrations.
Guardiola overlooked that when asked about the final. Instead, he praised United’s performance and credited United chiefs Omar Berrada and Jason Wilcox for their previous roles at City.
[Manchester] United always plays really good,” Guardiola told reporters at his press conference.
“Happy to see, in the stands, Omar [Berrada], Jason Wilcox – the most important part in this club for the last decade, both of them.
“Jason, in the academy, did an incredible job. Omar, the right-hand of Ferran [Soriano], had been top and seeing top class players from United, Bruno [Fernandes], Luke Shaw – one of my favourite players – Mason Mount, the manager Michael Carrick.”
It was an impressive season for Luke Shaw, who has avoided major injury setbacks to allow him to become a mainstay in United’s defence under Ruben Amorim and Michael Carrick.
Meanwhile, there has been a lot of speculation over whether this could be Guardiola’s last season at City. He has another 12 months left to run on his current deal.
- ⚡️ NEWS IN BRIEF
- Pep Guardiola credits Jason Wilcox and Omar Berrada for their work at Man City
- Guardiola also named Luke Shaw among his favourite footballers
- There are doubts over Guardiola’s future at Man City
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Pep Guardiola record against Man Utd
Perhaps the two biggest games between Guardiola’s sides and United were the two Champions League finals won by Barcelona.
In total, Guardiola has faced United 31 times as a coach.
Guardiola was victorious on 17 occasions, with four draws and 10 defeats.
It remains to be seen if United will be facing a City side with Guardiola still in charge next season.
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