Pep Guardiola 'unbelievable' verdict should be a warning to Man City ahead of Club World Cup tie

Pep Guardiola and Simone Inzaghi have only shared a touchline on two occasions, but the mutual respect will flow from one technical area to the other in Orlando's Camping World Stadium on Monday night.

The Catalan and the Italian faced off in the 2023 Champions League final when Rodri's goal secured Manchester City a treble, and then again in the league phase of this season's Champions League when the two teams shared a goalless 90 minutes.

One goal across two games of football might not feel like Exhibit A for the quality of the games, but few teams have posed City the kind of tactical problems that Inzaghi's Inter did.

They were unfortunate to be on the losing side in Istanbul and contributed to an entertaining stalemate back in September. Inzaghi's back-three system could cause big teams problems in Europe, and City certainly fell into that bracket, although you wonder how much the Italian has been wounded by Inter's 5-0 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League final.

In the weeks after that game, he swapped Inter for Al Hilal and has begun his new job on the world stage. The Saudi Pro League side progressed to the Club World Cup knockouts after draws with Real Madrid and RB Salzburg, and they looked bright as an attacking force in both games.

Inzaghi is still getting to know his new squad, and they have tended to play a back four so far. However, he could have a surprise up his sleeve for City, although the way the Blues cruised through the group stages suggests that he will find it even harder to register a first win against Guardiola now.

The draw has opened up for City after they topped Group G, but if there is any complacency in the squad at facing the only Asian side to reach the knockout rounds, Guardiola will quickly knock it out of them.

He knows how good Inzaghi's sides can be, a point he made after Inter beat Barcelona 7-6 in one of the all-time great Champions League semi-finals in the spring.

“I think Inter proved again when we won the Champions League against the opponent that we faced, (it) was incredible," said Guardiola.

"Inter: how good they defend, in the transitions, physicality, well organised. Inzaghi is an unbelievable manager."

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It is something of a surprise that Inzaghi, at 49, has opted to move to the Saudi Pro League, but the league is gaining in status, and the financial package can be difficult to say no to. The language barrier has also been an issue in stopping him from ever moving to the Premier League.

He is still in charge of a squad with some excellent players, including former City full-back João Cancelo, Aleksandar Mitrovic, Ruben Neves, Kalidou Koulibaly, and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic. As Guardiola well knows, those players, coupled with the 'unbelievable' Inzaghi, could pose a threat to any side.

City will back themselves to progress, but they will know this won’t be as easy as many are predicting. Those who played against Inter in Istanbul in June 2023 will remember just how difficult and edgy that game became.

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