“I love my team!” – Pep Guardiola glows with praise on Manchester City’s performance in 0-0 draw against Inter | OneFootball

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola glowed with praise when reviewing his side’s performance against Inter in their 0-0 draw with the Italian club.

It was likely not the opening night that Manchester City will have hoped for as they begin another pursuit of a second UEFA Champions League title, frustrated in front of goal by a stern Italian defence and missing golden opportunities to win the game late on.

Inter had their own chances in the first-half, often dispossessing Manchester City in the midfield and picking up on lapses of concentration from the hosts, but ultimately lacking the cutting edge to beat Ederson.

Ilkay Gundogan was presented with two late headed opportunities to claim all three points in the final 15 minutes, whilst Phil Foden also had a chance to win the contest, but ultimately it would be points shared on matchday one of the Champions League’s league phase format.

Speaking to broadcasters after the game, Pep Guardiola had little to no criticism for his side’s performance, despite failing to score and being held to a 0-0 draw by the Serie A giants and left wondering what sort of impact the draw could have on their future prospects.

“We played so good. I love my team! We are a fantastic team,” Guardiola said at the Etihad Stadium. “Against that team, we defended really well. They are the masters of defending.”

When asked what specifically had pleased him so much about his Manchester City side’s performance against Simone Inzaghi’s men on Wednesday evening, Guardiola responded, “Everything. Absolutely everything!”

Pep Guardiola will however still want improvements from his side before they return to action on Sunday afternoon, with Premier League title rivals Arsenal being the next visitors to the Etihad Stadium.

Whilst only heading into the fifth game of the ongoing season, the narrow margin between the two clubs in the last campaign means that neither side will want to be on the receiving end of a defeat and dropped points this season.

For Erling Haaland in particular, the Norwegian will be desperate for a 100th goal for the club, and a chance to level a record set by Cristiano Ronaldo at Real Madrid in 2011, becoming the joint-fastest player to reach a century of goals for a single club, doing so in 105 appearances.