"We are not friends" - Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola opens up on relationship with Liverpool counterpart Jurgen Klopp
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has explained his relationship with Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp after the two teams played out a scintillating 2-2 draw.
Guardiola's men took the lead on two occasions during Sunday's clash with Liverpool but the Anfield outfit found an equalizer each time.
Honors were even and, in a way, it was befitting of the story being told surrounding the match.
Currently, these two teams are fighting for the top spot in the standings with just one point separating them after an equal number of matches. Manchester City have 74 points while Liverpool have 73 points from 31 matches each. The rivalry between the two sides is being touted as the best in the Premier League history.
This @ManCity @LFC rivalry is the best we’ve ever had in English football!! We’ve never had the two best teams & managers in the world together fighting it out.
telegraph.co.uk/football/2022/…
Following the game, Guardiola was asked for his thoughts on the kind of relations he has with Klopp.
Guardiola explained to Sky Sports that he respects the German manager whilst picking out the fact that they are still rivals (via City Xtra):
"I respect Jurgen [Klopp] so much. He has made me a better manager. We are not friends - we don't lunch together - I have his number, but I don't call him. There is respect - he knows next Saturday, I will try to beat him."
🗣️ "We will have dinner together someday.. in the Hall of Fame!"
Pep Guardiola has the utmost respect for Jurgen Klopp 🤝 https://t.co/KFfvoFdoHe
Next Saturday promises to be yet another mouthwatering clash between the two managers as Manchester City face Liverpool in the semi-finals of the FA Cup at Wembley.
Both managers are targeting multiple trophies this season for their clubs. Liverpool, in fact, have already won the Carabao Cup. There is a chance of the two sides not only meeting in the FA Cup but also in the UEFA Champions League.
If Manchester City and Liverpool make the Final, they will play one another in Paris. The two teams are already on their way to the big game, having taken the lead in their respective quarter-finals' first leg. City beat Atletico Madrid 1-0 while the Reds handed Benfica a 3-1 defeat.
Liverpool's Jurgen Klopp and Manchester City's Pep Guardiola - A rivalry for the ages
Pep Guardiola accomplishments:
- 2x UEFA Champions League, 3x Premier League, 3x La Liga, 3x Bundesliga, FA Cup, 4x League Cup, 2x Spanish Cup, 2x German Cup
Jurgen Klopp accomplishments:
- UEFA Champions League, Premier League, 2x Bundesliga, League Cup, German Cup, 2x German Super Cup
The two iconic managers sit atop European football. Both boast of phenomenal careers and their current head-to-head record is: 23 games played, 9 wins, 9 losses, and 5 draws.
Pep Guardiola reinvented the tiki-taka style that Barcelona are so renowned for in Catalonia. His unbelievable stint in charge of Barca gave the football world a shock.
It was perhaps the turning point in how football is played as sides started adopting a more attacking and possession style of play.
Meanwhile, Klopp was somewhat of an emerging underdog in German football. He managed to knock down the perennial giants of Bundesliga, Bayern Munich, as manager of Borussia Dortmund. Under him, the latter side won the Bundesliga in consecutive seasons, 2010-11 and 2011-12.
Both share similarities in how they quickly steamrolled their way into history with their respective sides.
Their rivalry began in German football when Guardiola joined Bayern in 2013 as Klopp was coming to the end of his time with Dortmund.
During their time in Germany, Guardiola would get the better of Klopp in three of their four Bundesliga matches. Klopp's Dortmund did beat the Spaniard's team twice in the German Super Cup though, before heading to Liverpool in 2015.
RESPECT! Guardiola & Klopp hug it out at full-time 🤝 https://t.co/5sxHfxpJrA
Guardiola would then leave Bayern to join Manchester City in 2016 and Premier League football has never looked back. Each season, the two have continued to forge a rivalry befitting of the two heavyweight clubs they are at.
Liverpool and Manchester City are England's best clubs currently and that is largely down to their two legendary managers.