Guardiola ´in love´ with PSG star Verratti as Man City boss hails uncontrollable Messi

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola said he is “in love” with Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Marco Verratti, while he also lavished Lionel Messi in praise after his side lost in the Champions League.

Messi scored his first goal for PSG after Idrissa Gueye’s opening-half breakthrough in Tuesday’s 2-0 victory over City in the French capital.

While Messi stole the headlines with his stunning 74th-minute goal, Guardiola heaped praise on Verratti – who helped Italy win Euro 2020 before the start of the season.

“I’m in love,” Guardiola told reporters post-match. “He’s an exceptional player because he’s under pressure and has the calmness to take on extra touch and in that moment create extra passes behind our midfield players.

“I know the character and personality that he has and he did it again. I’m happy he’s back from his injury and yeah, an exceptional player.

“He’s not tall from his aspect from outside, but when you see how he moves, how he plays… he’s not a player for long distance passes, but you can count on him to always help to make a build up and know exactly where the spaces are to create other situations.

“Especially in the first half, second half was much better controlled by Kevin [De Bruyne], but first half we were a little bit soft with him.”

Après cette victoire face à Manchester City, le président Nasser Al-Khelaïfi est allé féliciter les joueurs dans le vestiaire #