‘He is a goal scoring machine’ - Pep Guardiola full of praise for Cristiano Ronaldo

Pep Guardiola has claimed Cristiano Ronaldo is a ‘goal scoring machine’ ahead of the Manchester derby on Saturday.

The Manchester City manager was speaking on Wednesday, after his side beat Club Brugge 4-1 in the Champions League, and said stopping the Portuguese forward will be one his side’s biggest tasks at Old Trafford.

Ronaldo was again on target during the week, as his brace secured a 2-2 draw for Manchester United away to Atalanta, meaning the 36-year-old now has netted five in four Champions League group games this term.

Guardiola said his defender will have to deal with: “A guy [Ronaldo] who is able to do unique things and is a scoring machine.

“We saw it last season and they have one of the best players in the whole history [of football],” he added.

While both sides were involved in midweek Champions League action, United played on Tuesday, and therefore head into the derby with an extra day’s rest over their neighbours .

However, Guardiola insisted on Wednesday he has no worries about that. “I’m absolutely not [concerned about the gap between games],” he told reporters. “If they [United] want to play tomorrow, we will play tomorrow.

“The schedule is the schedule. Sometimes you play Tuesday, sometimes you play Friday; sometimes you play 12:30, sometimes you play 5:30.”

The quick turnaround could come at a costly price, as Guardiola confirmed Kyle Walker may be out of contention after picking up a knock as he helped City to the brink of qualification in the Champions League.

“We are going to review the players because some of them, especially Kyle [Walker] have a kick in his foot. We are going to see tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, but I’m pretty sure that at 12:30 we’ll be at Old Trafford,” Guardiola said.