Pep: We knew it would be tough

PEP GUARDIOLA insisted his Manchester City team were not caught out by the Parkhead crowd as Celtic held them to a 3-3 draw.

The Barclays Premier League side were going into the Champions League match just one victory away from equalling an English record for 11 wins in a row, but they could not overcome fierce Hoops resistance at a raucous Celtic Park.

Goals were lost early in both halves and for the opening 10 minutes the Etihad club appeared shell-shocked as a wall of noise crashed down.

However, City boss Guardiola stressed his team knew what to expect.

“Celtic is an amazing environment with the fans,” said the Spaniard.

“Celtic of Glasgow have a history. The players know that every weekend they have to win. I knew how tough it would be.

“They are strong in long balls because they have amazing wingers, [Scott] Sinclair especially. We saw Moussa [Dembele’s] quality in the middle.

“It was a fantastic game for the spectators. We score three away but didn’t win.

“The team showed amazing effort to recover, that’s not easy in this stadium where in the last 24 games they have only lost three. All the best teams in Europe have found it difficult to win here.”

While many south of the border may have been critical of City for dropping points to the fourth seeds in Group C, Guardiola instead chose to congratulate the character of his players.

He said: “It was difficult for us to start in the first half and second half with a goal against us, that’s why I’m so happy for the reaction.”