Pep Guardiola makes Champions League admission about "pain in the a**" Liverpool

Pep Guardiola has highlighted Liverpool as Manchester City's biggest threat in the Champions League this season.

It is no secret that the Etihad Stadium outfit are desperate to win the coveted European trophy, and it is the final piece of the jigsaw in their trophy cabinet.

City cruised to a 5-0 victory over Sporting CP in the Round of 16 on Tuesday night in a victory which stamped authority on the competition.

Goals from Riyad Mahrez, Phil Foden, Raheem Sterling and a brace from Bernardo Silva meant that Guardiola's men head into the second leg with an incredibly comfortable advantage.

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But the former Bayern Munich and Barcelona boss isn't getting carried away just yet.

Asked whether there was a team out there that is capable of beating City, Guardiola replied: " Liverpool. They're six points behind us (if they win their game in hand).

"Liverpool has been our biggest rivals in the last seasons, they're always there. It's a pain in the a** all the time. They're a fantastic team in Europe."

Fans flocked to praise Guardiola for his honesty but also took the opportunity to consider that the rivalry between the Spaniard and Liverpool's Jurgen Klopp will be remembered for years and years to come.

One wrote: "I appreciate the mutual respect between Klopp and Pep. They know they're the best, and they push each other to be better. We're watching the managerial equivalent of Ronaldo vs Messi."

A Liverpool fan added: "He may be the Man City manager, but I will miss it when both he and Klopp leave the league. It has been a privilege to see this managerial rivalry, that Liverpool is actually in the conversation as opposed to the Fergie Wenger era when we could only watch from the sidelines."

On Guardiola, another Reddit user wrote: "He always downplays his team and lifts others but so do most managers. Like he assumes we'll (Liverpool) win our next say by saying we're 'six points behind' but he would never assume three points is a given for his own team in front of the media.

"It helps to keep his side motivated and it's honestly impressive that he's managed to keep them this motivated considering they've won so much."

City have every chance of doing the double this season and a victory in the Premier League, as well as the Champions League, would mean that Guardiola, presumably, has achieved all that he wanted to when he was appointed in 2016.

Liverpool have a more tricky task in their Round of 16, they take on Serie A side Inter Milan in their first leg on Wednesday.

Klopp's side head into the tie on the back of six successive victories, beating relegation-battling Burnley 1-0 at the weekend in a hard-fought win. The Reds have no new injury concerns and have a fully fit squad, with Jordan Henderson quickly recovering from the knock to his knee that he received on Sunday.

It remains to be seen how both teams fare in the competition and whether they will face up against one another at some stage.