The benches have been another battlefield in the Premier. On the wings there have been intense wars between Mourinho, Wenger, Ferguson… However, none will go down in history like the duels between Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola.
“I don’t feel like there’s any rivalry between us.”. We are competitive and always want to win. I respect him, but we haven’t had the opportunity to see each other often. In the future, we will have a lot to talk about, “said the German before his last dance with Pep.
I don’t feel like there’s any rivalry between us.
Jürgen Klopp, Liverpool manager
En Anfield, ‘Pool’ and City – second and third, one and two points behind Arsenal – are playing in a Premier League that has changed forever. And with Klopp’s goodbye set for July, his Last Dance in the English League – we’ll see what happens in the FA Cup – comes with the title as a prize… once again. A whole classic.
Continuous improvement
The Premier has been Pep’s City’s garden since 2017. They have won five of the last six Leagues, three in a row. However, Liverpool have put pressure on them, like Arteta’s Arsenal in the last two campaigns.
“They are always there. They are like a pain in the ass. He is the toughest rival I have faced. “They forced us to break our limits,” said Guardiola, who won two Premiers from Klopp by ‘photo finish’ in 2018-19 and 2021-22.
Klopp praises Guardiola: “I know I’m pretty good… but Pep is the best”
Their fights were eternal, chaining victory after victory, and they stretched until the last day in both courses, exceeding 90 points [ver gráfico]. The ‘reds’ were runners-up, achieving 97 points and with one defeat. Crazy. “We must approach perfection to compete”pointed out a Klopp who has been the only one capable of taking a League title away from Pep’s City since they collided.
He is the toughest rival I have faced. They forced us to break our limits
Pep Guardiola, Manchester City coach
They did it in the 2019-20 campaign, reaching 99 points! They were one of the 100 light blues of 2017-18. Period numbers that have marked a new era. Because beyond their crosses in the Champions League – the ‘red’ triumph in the 2017-18 quarterfinals -, in Cups and Communities, Liverpool-City have gone to eternity in the Premier. With Salah, Mané, Van Dijk… on one side and Haaland, De Bruyne, Rodri… on the other, they have become the great English classic of the 21st century.
Guardiola: “Klopp is the best rival I have had in my life”
With the truce of the first year in which they met in England and in which they were far from the top, the clash of styles – high intensity football and red transitions and light blue possession and positional football – gave way to an endless rivalry. They fed off each other and “learned”, as Pep acknowledged, throughout their 15 matches in the Premier League (29 in total). Klopp has an advantage on aggregate (12 vs 11) and Guardiola in Premier (4 vs 5).
Brand devourers
The points marks (100 for City in 2017-18 and 99 for the ‘Pool’ in 2019-20) and the consecutive victories (18) and total victories (32) that both share are some of the record figures that have been left in the history of the PL [ver gráfico].
Both teams have produced the best football the Premier League has ever seen.
Sam Lee, corresponsal del City de ‘The Athletic’
“Both teams have produced the best football the Premier League has ever seen. It has been a brilliant rivalry, the best in English football because of how they have pushed each other,” emphasizes Sam Lee, City correspondent for ‘The Athletic’. “Fifteen years ago few would have thought that the rivalry between City and Liverpool would be so fierce. Never before have two teams faced each other face to face and so consistently for so many years. Klopp and Pep will leave a great legacy,” explains Ian Doyle, of the ‘Liverpool Echo’.
Klopp and Pep will leave a great legacy
Ian Doyle, Liverpool Echo journalist
Anfield will lower the curtain on its history. “Guardiola made me a better coach. I know I’m good, but he’s the best,” Klop confessedp. “He has been my biggest rival and I will sleep easier when I face Liverpool. I will miss it. I don’t know him much. I hope we can go to dinner or have a drink.“, Pep said.. Always with ‘fair play’.
2024-03-10 07:25:22
#rivalry #Premier
