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Gladbach coach relishing match against ‘world’s best team’ Man City

Borussia Moenchengladbach coach Marco Rose heaped praise on their Champions League last- 16 opponents Manchester City ahead of their first-leg encounter tomorrow morning (Singapore time), saying his players would be facing arguably the world's best team.

City are on an 18-game winning run in all competitions and are clear favourites, especially with the game having been moved from Gladbach's Borussia Park to Budapest due to Germany's Covid-19 travel restrictions.

"I don't need to motivate our players. When you play as Gladbach in the Champions League Round of 16 against Manchester City, then you can only win from such a game," Rose said.

"City have world-class players on all positions and we have the chance to measure ourselves against arguably the best team currently in the world. That is exactly what we want."

Gladbach are reeling from last Saturday's shock 2-1 home loss to second-from-bottom Mainz, and Rose blamed the defeat on the disruption caused by last week's bombshell announcement he will be joining rivals Borussia Dortmund next term.

"Everything that has happened this week, everything that has hit the players, has happened because of me," he confessed after the defeat. "And I bear responsibility for that."

His immediate task is to gain "trust and calm" among his squad. " If there is one thing City don't like is not having the ball. We need to keep trying to go forward," he added.

City boss Pep Guardiola said they will be preparing for this like a "normal game".

"We're going to tell the players what Gladbach are as a team like we have done against Arsenal, Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur and Everton," he said. - AFP, REUTERS

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