Even the greatest have their list of sides they’d rather avoid, and Pep Guardiola is now different. For all of his achievements over the years, the Spaniard just hasn’t managed to crack the case against some surprising sides, as well as some who will have the most of his respect. Meanwhile, others simply remain a bogey team, much to his frustration.
With that said, we’ve taken a look at Guardiola’s most-feared opponents over the years based on his win rate (minimum six games played), from some of the world’s best in Spanish and English football to others who have simply had the Spaniard’s number.
Pep Guardiola: Worst head-to-head records | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Rank | Team | Record | Win% |
1 | Liverpool | P22 W7 | 31.8% |
2 | Tottenham | P21 W10 | 47.6% |
3 | Borussia Monchengladbach | P10 W5 | 50% |
4 | Inter | P6 W3 | 50% |
5 | Real Betis | P6 W3 | 50% |
6 | Real Madrid | P25 W13 | 52% |
7 | Chelsea | P29 W16 | 55.2% |
8 | Man Utd | P27 W16 | 59.3% |
9 | Borussia Dortmund | P15 W9 | 60% |
10 | Espanyol | P10 W6 | 60% |
11 | Valencia | P10 W6 | 60% |
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11
Valencia
60% win rate
Despite a plethora of talent at his disposal, which did result in some of the best moments in the club’s history, Guardiola’s Barcelona side didn’t always ease past Valencia in La Liga. Whilst they never lost – summing up their quality – they did draw against Los Ches four times, securing only a win rate of 60% during Guardiola’s tenure.
The Spaniard’s biggest win against Valencia should at least leave the former Barcelona boss satisfied, having seen his side record a stunning 5-1 victory against one of his apparent bogey teams in the 2011/12 season, in which Lionel Messi fittingly netted four.
10
Espanyol
60% win rate
Just like Valencia, Guardiola has only defeated Espanyol six times throughout his managerial career. Espanyol are a slightly more fearsome opponent than Valencia given he once suffered defeat against Barcelona’s local rivals, losing 2-1 in shock fashion during the 2008/09 treble-winning season.
A young Mauricio Pochettino overcame his counterpart (in a sign of things to come) courtesy of goals from Ivan de la Pena in midfield.
A front three of Samuel Eto’o, Thierry Henry and Messi wasn’t enough to defeat Espanyol on that day, who managed to avoid defeat three other times against one of the best sides in history.
9
Borussia Dortmund
60% win rate
The beginning of Jurgen Klopp and Guardiola’s rivalry saw the former’s Borussia Dortmund side become one of the few capable of standing in the way of the Spaniard’s Bayern Munich. Guardiola used his time at Manchester City to improve his record against the Bundesliga side, with that record now standing at nine wins in 15 games, with all four defeats in that run coming against Klopp’s Dortmund.
The former Dortmund boss defeated Guardiola in the DFL-Supercup final in 2013, securing a 4-2 victory, whilst also thrashing his managerial rival 3-0 in the Bundesliga a year later.
8
Man Utd
59.3 win rate
For all of Guardiola’s success over the years, Manchester United have got one over on him likely too many times for his liking. The Red Devils have particularly proved to be frustrating opponents at the Etihad in recent years, with half of Guardiola’s derby defeats coming at the hands of their local rivals at home.
The most disappointing result of the lot undoubtedly came at the end of last season, when United shocked Manchester City in the FA Cup final.
Goals from Kobbie Mainoo and Alejandro Garnacho ensured that it was the Red Devils who claimed Wembley victory to add another piece of silverware to their collection despite enduring such a difficult campaign once again.
7
Chelsea
55.2% win rate
Another ‘Big Six’ side, Guardiola has managed to win just over half of his games against Chelsea over the years, but was left swallowing the bitter pill of defeat against the Blues on the biggest stage back in 2021 when his Manchester City side lost the Champions League final. Outdone by Thomas Tuchel, Chelsea ran out 1-0 winners over the Citizens to deny them a European trophy.
To Guardiola’s credit, his side haven’t suffered defeat against the Blues since that day to forget, winning 8 of 10 games and drawing the other two in a dominant run that appears unlikely to come to an end any time soon.
6
Real Madrid
52% win rate
Barcelona’s El Clasico rivals and a side both Bayern Munich and Manchester City became familiar with under Guardiola, Real Madrid have defeated the Spaniard just six times in 25 games in what just about sums up his quality. They remain the side for the big occasion, however, having defeated the legendary manager in a knockout game on four of those six occasions.
The La Liga giants’ biggest win over Guardiola remains their 4-0 thrashing of his Bayern Munich side during the 2013/14 campaign on their way to Champions League glory. Meanwhile, Madrid’s greatest loss at the hands of their rival manager came when his Barcelona side hit them for five in the 2010/11 campaign, with David Villa grabbing a brace.
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5
Real Betis
50% win rate
A surprise entry on this list, Real Betis always gave Guardiola’s Barcelona side a tough test, even defeating them in the second leg of the Copa Del Rey quarter-finals despite exiting the competition on aggregate. Away from the cup competition, meanwhile, Betis earned two entertaining 2-2 draws against a talented Barca side and suffered just three defeats against the Spaniard.
Of course, they’d have been happy to see the manager complete a move to Bayern Munich when he did, but Betis came away from that era as one of the rare few in a position to boast a relatively strong record against one of the greatest to ever take to the Camp Nou technical area.
4
Inter
50% win rate
Squaring off against both his Barcelona side and most recent Manchester City side, Inter have achieved what most have struggled to get near against Guardiola by losing just half of their games. They have also conceded just five times in six matches – a far more impressive rate than Real Betis.
The current Serie A champions’ most famous game against the 53-year-old is undoubtedly their 3-1 defeat of Barcelona in the 2009/10 campaign.
In another version of Jose Mourinho v Guardiola, the former came out on top in stunning fashion thanks to goals from Maicon, Wesley Sneijder and Diego Milito to hand themselves the advantage in the Champions League semi-final first leg before incredibly holding on with 10 players at Camp Nou. That year, of course, they went on to become European champions.
3
Borussia Monchengladbach
50% win rate
Whilst Guardiola’s time at Manchester City has helped to improve his record against Borussia Monchengladbach, it’s worth noting that he struggled against them at Bayern Munich – winning just twice in six games, which both came during his first season in charge.
Aside from those two victories, Guardiola’s Bayern side suffered a 2-0 defeat in the 2014/15 campaign and a 3-1 defeat just one season later, with two draws in between.
His Manchester City side has enjoyed greater success, with three wins and one draw in four games, quickly putting any doubts that Guardiola may have against Gladbach to rest.
2
Tottenham
47.6% win rate
Perhaps the pure definition of a bogey team, Tottenham Hotspur have been a thorn in Guardiola’s side ever since he stepped foot into the Premier League. They dealt him his first defeat in English football and knocked his City side out of the Champions League in dramatic fashion. Even recently, the Lilywhites sent the Citizens packing in a shock Carabao Cup victory to begin a four-game losing run.
One of just two sides that Guardiola has a win percentage less than 50% against, if Spurs could replicate their form against one of the greatest managers of all time when up against slightly lesser sides then their wait for a trophy may have come to an end by now.
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1
Liverpool
31.8% win rate
Unquestionably the greatest side that Guardiola ever came up against, even Liverpool could only stop his Manchester City side from picking up the Premier League title on one occasion.
Aside from that, though, the Reds made sure to pick up some victories to remember – from the 4-3 Anfield win in 2018 to lay their marker, to the 3-0 Champions League thrashing on their way to knocking the Citizens out of Europe a few months later.
At just 31% and seven wins, Liverpool remain Guardiola’s most-feared opponents, and with high-flying Arne Slot still to begin a potential rivalry with Pep, that record may yet get even worse even after the departure of the Spaniard’s historic foe in Jurgen Klopp.
