Pep Guardiola explains Man City gameplan for ‘almost unstoppable’ Cristiano Ronaldo

Pep Guardiola has confirmed Manchester City’s plan to halt Cristiano Ronaldo, who has been described as “nearly unstoppable.”

Ronaldo is under pressure at Manchester United as the Reds try to save their season, with the serial Ballon D’Or winner one of the players in the squad unable to reach the heights expected. Guardiola is well aware that he is still a world-class finisher.

The City manager recalled a half-chance he conjured up in the reverse tie at Old Trafford earlier this season, which nearly undid the visitors’ control that had taken minutes to establish. Guardiola has urged his players that they must do everything they can to keep Ronaldo out of the box ahead of their meetings at the Etihad.

“Along with [Lionel] Messi, he’s been one of the best in the previous 15 years. We will never see what these two men have done again “he stated

“When you reach these goals, you are scrutinized every second of your life, and now, with social media, much more so. He’s an outstanding finisher, and it’s been a pleasure to watch him through the years.

“To avoid Cristiano close to the box, we need to unleash our game, our strength, because he is nearly unbeatable there. When we played there, we were leading 1-0 and in complete control, and then the first time came, he created an opportunity, and Eddy made an amazing stop.

“He hadn’t even touched the ball when he came close to scoring. He have that quality and capacity. We need to keep him under control. You will always be there when you are one of the greatest goalscoring machines of all time, as he was. Mentally, he is a force to be reckoned with. He was unfazed by pressure because he had lived with it throughout his career and had always responded well.”