PEP GUARDIOLA insisted his Manchester City team were not caught out by the partisan Parkhead crowd as Celtic held them to a 3-3 draw.
The Premier League side were going into the Champions League match day No.2 game just one victory away from equalling an English record for 11 wins in a row, but they could not overcome fierce green and white resistance at a raucous Celtic Park.
Goals were lost early in both halves and for the opening 10 minutes the Etihad club appeared shell-shocked as a wall of noise crashed down from the steep stands around them.
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However, City boss Guardiola stressed his team knew what to expect coming to the east end of Glasgow, and praised the commitment of the opposition in what was ultimately a disappointing night for the travelling support.
“Celtic is an amazing environment with the fans. We knew that,” said the Spaniard.
Read more: Celtic v Manchester City: Celtic man-by-man ratings
“Celtic of Glasgow have a history. The players know that every weekend they have to win. When it happens they use that and that mentality. I saw that here. I knew how tough it would be.
“They are strong in long balls because they have amazing wingers, [Scott] Sinclair especially. We saw Moussa [Dembele’s] quality in the middle.
“It was a fantastic game for the spectators. We score three goals away but didn’t win.
“The team showed amazing effort to recover, that’s not easy in this stadium where in the last 24 games at home they have only lost three. All the best teams in Europe have found it difficult to win here.”
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While many onlookers south of the border may have been critical of City for dropping points to the fourth seeds in Group C, Guardiola instead chose to congratulate the character of his players who came from behind three times to take their tally after two games to four points.
He said: "It was difficult for us to start in the first half and second half with a goal against us, that's why I'm so happy for the reaction of the players - it's not easy to score three goals away.
"This group, this club, we are going to fight until the last game to qualify."
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