They say that whoever loves you well will make you cry. Well, that is what usually happens to Pep Guardiola every time Luis Enrique crosses his path.
“I like everything about Luis. We are friends and we love each other, we have an incredible connection. I would like it not to go well for him tomorrow but our relationship is forever,” Guardiola warned about ‘Lucho’ in the preview.
I wish tomorrow didn’t go well but our relationship is forever
Pep Guardiola
Things, this time, looked good. Manchester City beat PSG 0-2 in their particular fratricidal duel to get into the playoffs. Suddenly, everything changed. Goals from Dembélé (56′), Barcola (60′), Joao Neves (78′) and Gonçalo Ramos (93′) allowed PSG to make a comeback for the ages (4-2).
Luis Enrique hugs Pep Guardiola.Lapresse
Guardiola once again bit the dust against ‘Lucho’. “It was difficult for me to celebrate the goals because I had a friend by my side,” acknowledged the PSG coach. The truth is that they have faced each other five times and Pep has lost three. He has only won two. They have never tied.
The Luis Enrique-Guardiola crosses
PSG 4-2 Manchester City (Champions/Liguilla 2024-25)Manchester City 3-1 Barcelona (Champions/Group Stage 2016-17)Barcelona 4-0 Manchester City (Champions/Group Stage 2016-17)Bayern 3-2 Barcelona (Champions/Semifinals 2014-15)Barcelona 3-0 Bayern (Champions/Semifinals 2014-15)
There are six coaches against whom Guardiola has lost the most times: Jürgen Klopp (12 defeats in 33 games), José Mourinho (7 in 25), Mauricio Pochettino (4 in 25), Carlo Ancelotti (4 in 12), Solskjaer (4 in 9) and Antonio Conte (4 in 7).
Against anyone he has faced, at least five times, Guardiola has a defeat ratio as high as the one he has with Luis Enrique (60%). Not even Antonio Conte (57.14%).
The thing doesn’t end there. ‘Lucho’ can boast of being the first coach to have defeated Guardiola on three different occasions by scoring three or more goals. It’s your ‘kryptonite’. With friends like that… who wants enemies.
