MIKAEL LUSTIG has admitted he was impressed by the sportsmanship of Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola after the 3-3 draw in midweek.
The legendary manager shook the hand of the Swedish defender and made a point of congratulating every Hoops player after the final whistle.
Celtic had just prevented their opponents from notching their 11th successive victory of the season which would have equalled Spurs record set in 1961.
Lustig said: “Pep didn’t say anything to us, but he showed what a good man he is because he obviously wanted to win to take that record.
“However, a draw was a fair result and I think that showed we earned his respect.
“There are different ways to take a point, but I think we did it in a positive way.
“We pressed them really well and scored three goals against one of the best teams in the world, so it was very nice.
“They have done really well, 10 wins in 10 games, so it’s nice that Celtic are the team that could stop that.”
The international right-back added: “I still think it’s harder to play against Barcelona.
“When we beat them 2-1 three years ago, we didn’t have much possession of the ball, but we took three points and, to be fair, it tastes better when you win.
“But the way we played and the way we pressed City was really good.
”It was really tough the night we lost to Barcelona and the day after, but football moves on and we showed really good character to bounce back in this group.
“We proved we belong at this level, but if we lose our next game then maybe people will say that we don’t belong here.
“We just need to improve in every game. Of course, it’s really nice to get a point against a team like City, but we need to learn from this, as well.
“There are things that we did well, the pressure we put on them in the first-half was really good.
“Of course, again we didn’t want to lose as many goals, but it’s a different way we are playing now.
“We’ve been working with a new manager for just a couple of months now, so we’re only going to get stronger.”
