**Pep Guardiola**gave his opinion on the work of **Marcelino**as the leader of Villarreal.
**Marcelino**is a well-respected coach across LaLiga, who has excelled in previous spells at **Villarreal**and Valencia. In his second stint with his current club, the Spaniard steered the side to fifth place in the domestic division last term. This campaign, they sit behind only Real Madrid and Barcelona.
There have been many tight results that have gone against them this season, including a 1-0 defeat to **Tottenham**and a 2-2 draw with **Juventus**in the Champions League. The pressure is on to get a first win of the continental campaign and City must be wary, especially after a 2-2 draw at Monaco.
*“I know him since what when I started he was he was already around. So I've known him for a long time. Not only in Villarreal, Valencia, everywhere he's been. When you see a Marcelino team without knowing **Marcelino*is on the bench, you recognize his style of play.
“So when a champ when a team manages to go back to the Champions League in a league as competitive as the Spanish league, that's that has to be uh that has to be something. I admire and respect him very much. We really look we are really looking forward to playing a good game.
“They were very close to beating all those teams. You know that we how we are judged by results in football. But they were very close to getting points or winning those games.
“And yes, maybe they have to play a really good game and we have to play a really good game too. You know, in this competition in order to get a win, you need to play at your highest level.
*“We would be equally motivated if we had won the game at Monaco. That doesn't change anything.”*