Pep Guardiola singled out Joachim Andersen for praise as he hailed the ‘brilliant’ Crystal Palace defence ahead of Saturday’s trip to Premier League champions Manchester City.
Crystal Palace have often made life difficult for Manchester City over the years and, despite a dismal run of form which has raised questions over Roy Hodgson’s future, Guardiola is in no mood to take The Eagles lightly.
Palace were excellent against Liverpool last week until a controversial red card for Jordan Ayew turned the game on it’s head. What’s more, only two teams in the bottom half of the table – Brentford and Everton – can boast a better defensive record, with Guardiola full of praise for a man who has often gone under the radar alongside the more-fancied Marc Guehi at Selhurst Park.
Manchester City host Crystal Palace
“Always they have been tough games, so it will be a tough game,” Guardiola tells the Man City website.
“How they defend is brilliant. They don’t need much. Set pieces with (Joachim) Andersen and the other guys, it will be a tough game.”
It is not only in his own box, meanwhile, that Andersen can make the difference. The Denmark international, a £17 million signing from Lyon in 2021 after a fine loan spell at Fulham, scored the winner away to Man United in September, and also boasts the sort of passing range that would not look out of place in one of Guardiola’s teams.
Guardiola is a big Joachim Andersen fan
Furthermore, while it would perhaps be a bit of a stretch to describe Crystal Palace as Man City’s bogey team, Saturday’s visitors to the Etihad Stadium have picked up some impressive results against the treble winners in recent years.
City have failed to win five of their last six Premier League meetings, a run which began with that Andros Townsend volley back in 2018.
“I don’t remember easy games against Roy Hodgson’s teams. Patrick Vieira neither, but especially with Roy,” Guardiola adds.
“The teams are really good. They played incredibly well against Liverpool and, unfortunately, a player was sent off.
“(With) 10 against 11, it’s almost impossible. But 11 v 11… I don’t know what’s going to happen.”
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