Chelsea boss, Enzo Maresca, has said he doesn’t consider Pep Guardiola as a manager because the Manchester City head coach is ahead of “the rest.”

Maresca worked with Guardiola for two years at Man City in the past.

The Italian will face the Spaniard when Chelsea host Man City in the Premier League on Sunday.

Speaking at his pre-match press conference, Maresca said: “I worked under [Carlo] Ancelotti as a player, [Marcello] Lippi as a player, [Manuel] Pellegrini as a player, and then I worked with Pep for two seasons at Manchester City.

“I try to take things from all of them and create my own box to put everything inside.

“I don’t consider Pep a manager, I consider him a genius because he is ahead of the rest.

“When you are with him and close, of course, you try to see things and learn to create your idea [as a coach].”