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What is the story?
Former Barcelona and Manchester United manager, Louis van Gaal picks Liverpool ahead of both Barcelona and Manchester City to win this year's UEFA Champions League. The veteran manager claimed that Manchester City are better than Barcelona, but Liverpool are better than both as the three sides are still in the race to lift the most prestigious trophy in Europe, this season.
In case you didn’t know….
Louis van Gaal managed the Catalan Giants from 1997-2000 before returning to the club for another spell for the 2002-03 campaign. During his tenure at Barcelona, van Gaal won two La Liga titles, one Copa del Rey and also one UEFA Super Cup.
Whereas, he replaced David Moyes as the Red Devils manager in the summer of 2014. During his spell at Manchester, the former Netherlands manager only won one FA Cup before being dismissed in 2016.
Barcelona will take on van Gaal’s former club Manchester United on the 10th of April at the Old Trafford while the return leg is scheduled for April 16 at Camp Nou and if Barcelona overcomes the challenge that the Red Devils possess, they will face the winner of the Porto vs Liverpool tie in the other semi-final clash.
On the other side of the draw, Manchester City will face another English side Tottenham Hotspur for a berth in the probable semi-final clash against either Juventus or Ajax.
The heart of the matter…
In a recent interview with BBC (via GOAL) the veteran manager claimed:
"People think Barcelona are the best but they are not. Manchester City and Liverpool are more of a team than Barcelona - and Liverpool are more of a team than City."
He has also praised Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City for their sublime style of play.
"In my philosophy, the best team shall win but I hope for City because they play the best football," he insisted.
What’s Next?
Liverpool and Manchester City, both will be back in action this weekend in the Premier League where they will face Tottenham and Fulham respectively while Barcelona will take on their city rivals Espanyol in La Liga on Saturday, 30th of March.
