“I know…” Pep Guardiola wary of four Manchester United stars amid Premier League top four claim

Pep Guardiola has praised four of Manchester United’s players ahead of Manchester City’s Premier League opener against Chelsea.

Manchester United began their 2024/25 Premier League season with a hard-earned 1-0 victory over Fulham at Old Trafford.

In a match where both sides had their chances, debutant Joshua Zirkzee made a memorable impact, coming off the bench to convert Alejandro Garnacho‘s cross and secure the win.

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While the three points are a positive start, there were several tense moments that left United fans on edge. Erik ten Hag will be keen to address these concerns as the team looks to strengthen in the weeks ahead.

Speaking to the press ahead of Manchester City’s first game of the season, Pep Guardiola has highlighted United’s four new signings as players who will help give the team momentum.

So far this summer, the club have signed Zirkzee, Leny Yoro, Matthijs de Ligt, and Noussair Mazraoui.

The Spaniard explained that, although City are favourites to win the league, he is only thinking about qualifying for the top four for now, and United are certainly going to be a team to challenge them.

“Always at the beginning of the season, the first target is to finish in the top four,” Guardiola told reporters.

“People say: ‘Oh, come on’, I said ‘no’. Newcastle are not in Europe and are going to play one game a week. Newcastle with one game a week this season will be the Newcastle of two seasons ago.

“Arsenal are not necessary to talk about. Liverpool are not necessary to talk about. I know the signings of United, they are going to take the momentum and they will be there.

“Tottenham, I’m pretty sure they invest, and with the young players and the manager knows better. There are a lot of teams – Chelsea again, the amount of players and their quality and the manager. Six or seven teams will be there and if you drop a little bit, you will be away.

“This is the reality that I have felt since the first season I arrived here and after we proved to ourselves that we can do it and to try to do it again. It’s simple.”

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