Manchester City v Manchester United: Cristiano Ronaldo is a ‘goalscoring machine’ claims Pep Guardiola

Pep Guardiola has lauded Cristiano Ronaldo as a ‘goalscoring machine’ as Manchester City prepare to stop the attacker this weekend.

Ronaldo and his Manchester United team-mates travel to the Etihad on Sunday for the second Manchester derby of the season.

But speaking ahead of the game, Guardiola, who has come up against Ronaldo numerous times as a coach with Barcelona, Bayern Munich and City, admitted it’s been a ‘joy to watch’ the 37-year-old over the years, and said City must find a way to ‘control him’.

“He’s been one of the greatest in the last 15 years, alongside [Lionel] Messi,” Guardiola claimed in Friday’s pre-match press conference.

“What these two guys have done, we’re not going to see again. When you achieve these things, under scrutiny every second of your life and today, even more now with social media.

“As a finisher he’s exceptional, I’m not going to disguise it was a joy to watch him these years. We have to explode our game, our strength to avoid Cristiano close to the box, because there he is almost unstoppable.”

Ronaldo didn’t enjoy his best game when he faced City in November, but even on an indifferent afternoon, he caused City one major moment of concern.

“I remember when we played there and we were winning 1-0 and in control, perfect, perfect, and then the first time arrived he made a chance and Eddy [Ederson] made an incredible save,” said Guardiola. “He hadn’t touched the ball but nearly scored.

“That is the quality and ability that he has. We have to control him. When you are one of the greatest that he was in terms of being a goalscoring machine, you will always be there.

“He is so strong mentally. He handled pressure without a problem because he lived with expectation through his career and always responded in a positive way.”