Sergio Aguero admitted Liverpool are the “only team that can hurt” Manchester City ahead of the Premier League champion’s visit to Anfield next weekend.
However, the Argentine striker insisted that the Manchester derby remains England’s answer to El Clasico and the game Pep Guardiola‘s squad always relish most.
City trail Liverpool by six points in the title race after suffering surprise defeats against Norwich and Wolves, while Jurgen Klopp‘s remain undefeated having won 10 of their 11 games this season.
“It may be the Clasico for television, but for us, the Clasico, it’s the match against United,’ Aguero told France Football. “Liverpool have always been a tough opponent. But when I arrived, the team we were fighting for the title was United.
“Initially, it was something strange in [Manchester] that City competes against United. Then there was Chelsea. But these last four seasons, Liverpool have become a very strong team and are now fighting with us to win the Premier League.
“They are the only team in the league that can hurt us. They have been chasing a new league title for years.
“Last season, they didn’t go all the way, so they are very motivated. This year, they are in front of us and will try to go to the end.”
Klopp and Guardiola have started a verbal spat as tension ramps up in the build-up to the fixture, with the latter accusing Sadio Mane of diving.
Klopp then responded by hinting towards City’s use of “tactical fouls” and claimed his opposite number is too fixated on Liverpool and joked that his ”brain is not big enough” to keep thinking about another team.
