Jurgen Klopp on Friday hailed Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola as the best manager of his lifetime as he prepares his Liverpool team for what could be the final chapter in their captivating rivalry.
Manchester City have won five of the past six Premier League titles but Liverpool have been their main rivals, snatching the crown in 2020. The two teams are once again locked in a tussle at the top of the table, with leaders Liverpool ahead of the champions by a single point before Sunday’s clash at Anfield.
The Liverpool boss said Guardiola, whose team are chasing a second successive treble of Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup was “outstanding in many aspects”.
“I know that, I do the job myself so I see excellence when I face it and Pep is definitely that so it’s just so many different things over the years he did with his teams,” Klopp told reporters on Friday. “How can I judge managers from the past? But in my lifetime he’s the outstanding manager, definitely.”
Klopp has a winning record against Guardiola – coming out on top 12 times against 11 in their 29 meetings. “In this moment I have a positive record against Pep,” he said. “I have no clue how that happened to be honest but it is all fine.
“I know I’m quite good at what I’m doing as well. I don’t want to sound like somebody who is happy to be here but you ask me about the best and for me he is the best.”
Liverpool have an eye-catching record against City at their home ground, with the visitors winning just once at Anfield since 2003 – in front of empty stands during the coronavirus pandemic in 2021.
Klopp said playing at home would be a “massive, massive” factor, though he added it was too early to label the match as a title decider. He was also asked about comments from defender Trent Alexander-Arnold, who said in an interview this week that trophies mean more to Liverpool than to Abu Dhabi-backed City.
“He was born in Liverpool… he played through all the youth teams,” said the Liverpool boss. “What would you think in that situation? “One of our slogans which I love is ‘This means more’ and it means more to us. We have no clue exactly 100 percent what it means to other people.
“It’s just how he feels, how we feel and I’ve absolutely no problem with that.”