Pep Guardiola says it is important to know the value of under-pressure Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. (More Football News)
Manchester City make 💝the short trip to Old Trafford in the Premier League on Saturday for a derby where the stakes are high.
Solskjaer has seen his position come under scrutiny once more🏅 after United crashed out of the Champions League at the group stage this week to follow up on a mixed start to the Premier League campaign.
City manag🌱er Guardiola insisted Solskjaer was strong enough to cope with the strain.
Asked🃏 about Solskjaer and the life of a manager facing pressure, Guardiola said: "We know it. That is why we get a lot of salary, to keep these situations.
"It is important to know the value of Solskja🌼er, there is no doubt about this.
"I don't have t🌃o give him supporไt because he is strong enough and knows how this job works.
"When we win [people say] we are a genius and when we lose [people say] you have to be sacked. It happens at United and all around the world, it is a re♛ality."
Solskjaer's United won both Premier League meetings with City la💝st sꦆeason.
If they win this one, it would be the first time they have taken three top-flight victories in a row against their local rivals since winnᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚing four straight between November 2008 and April 2010.
City, though, have won six times at Old Trafford in the last nin💞e seasons and United have struggled at home in 2020-21, earning just four of their 19 🎶points there for the lowest share in the division so far.
Reflecting on United's exit in Europe, Guardiola sympathised with Solskjaer about the fine margins involvedꦫ in their de🌄cisive defeats against Paris Saint-Germain and RB Leipzig.
Asked if he thought it would be ܫmore c⛄ommon for big teams to go out early, Guardiola replied: "Absolutely - what is not going to change is the margin to be in the next round or be out in the group stages.
"With 1-1 against PSG, [Anthony] Martial has two clear chances and he misses, and Leipzig their game [against Istanbul Basaksehi🌺r] is 3-3 and they win 4-3 in the 94th minute.
"That was why they 🎃had the chance to win the next game [against United and go through].
"Even in the last minute it could havꦺe been 3-3 [in the Leipzig-United game] but it wasn’t and United are out. This is the💃 Champions League. We have to accept it.
"Becaus🥂e of [the fine margins] big teams can be out. That's why al𓆏ways when we win one game in the group stage I congratulate the players because it is so difficult.
"The Premier League is the same. Every time we are able to do 𒅌it is a big compliment. In the process, every time we win we think about the next game. This is the way we have to live our profession."
