English clubs have not yet matched Spain’s UCL domination – Guardiola

Pep Guardiola has assured Premier League clubs that they have a long way to go before they can claim the sort of Champions League domination enjoyed by Spanish teams in recent years.

Manchester City, like Manchester United and Liverpool, have already won their group ahead of facing RB Leipzig on Tuesday and are among the favourites for the crown, along with holders Chelsea.

Both Chelsea and Liverpool have won the competition in the past three years with City and Tottenham making the final, leading to suggestions that English football is dominating the continent.

But Guardiola, who won the competition twice as Barcelona coach, believes the LaLiga sides of the past decade strung together a more imperious reign.

He told reporters on Monday: “Spain was one decade here is two, three years [of domination].

“We have to wait to see if England can match what Barcelona, Real Madrid, Atletico and Valencia did. All four English teams have qualified and that is a big success for the Premier League.”

Guardiola will rotate his line-up for the trip to Germany, with the likes of Cole Palmer and James McAtee set for match action alongside the returning Kevin De Bruyne.

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But the City boss expects a tough game from Leipzig, who sacked manager Jesse Marsch on the weekend while sat third in Group A and 11th in the Bundesliga.

He added: “I respect a lot the impact the people from Red Bull create. I expect an aggressive team. We’ll be pressed.

“They’ll make incredible transitions. We have to be able to play a lot of touches ourselves. We cannot compete with the rhythm they like to play.”