Pep Guardiola has given a preview of Manchester City's Champions League match against Atletico Madrid, contrasting the two sides' approaches but refusing to criticise the Spanish side.
The Catalan stressed that he did not want to dispute whose style of play is superior, but he praised Diego Simeone's side.
"I'm not going to talk about these ridiculous debates for a second," Guardiola stated.
"Everyone tries their hardest to win the games. If they win, they'll be correct; if we win, we'll be correct." There are many different styles in this game, which are primarily determined by the quality of the players. This team is the Spanish champions.
"Simeone's style of play is widely misunderstood. It's more obnoxious than most people think. He doesn't want to take any chances in the build-up, but they are excellent in the final third." They're quite competitive. It is dependent on the game's progress, and they are aware of how to play at any given time.
"In terms of tactics, they're a pretty strong group. What can we do to get them irritated? That is exactly what we are going to do tomorrow and next week."
Guardiola's witty news conference retort
When it was suggested to the Catalan that he overthinks the Champions League, he agreed sarcastically.
"I always overthink in the Champions League," he admitted.
"I have a tendency to overthink things, which is why I've had such terrific outcomes in the Champions League."
That's why I overthink things and come up with ridiculous strategies. I'll find ideas tonight and execute fantastic strategies the next day. Tomorrow, we'll play with 12!"
He subsequently downplayed the role of the coach in games like this. "I didn't develop football," he remarked, "and as a coach, I've never scored a goal or saved a penalty."
"I wish I had that kind of power. What we've done at Barcelona and Bayern, as well as here, was done at Barcelona by Johan Cruyff and Carles Rexach."
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