In the crucial match on Saturday, Jurgen Klopp presented himself as the intellectual antithesis of his opponent. Klopp and Pep Guardiola have been facing off against one another for the past ten years, spanning 28 encounters that have taken place in the German Super Cup, Community Shield, FA, Carabao, and German cups, Bundesliga, Premier League, and Champions League. Just as they are side by side again in the league table, they will be in adjacent technical areas at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday when Manchester City hosts Liverpool. Klopp stated he “would watch wherever I was on the planet” for this match.
However, he is facing the man he believes to be the best in his industry once more. He declared, “I’m not sure how often I have said this, but he’s the best manager in the world.”
He also made a distinction between himself and his great opponent Guardiola, even though he will readily acknowledge that Guardiola has an influence.
“A crucial aspect of the game is defending,” he stated. “There, my philosophy begins and perhaps ends.”
Guardiola could disagree, considering how much value he places on pressuring. “We are not that close that we have spoken about it,” Klopp acknowledged.
However, Klopp’s game plan against Guardiola centers on defense, which forms the cornerstone of his offensive strategy. His best playmaker, after all, is Gegenpressing.
He remarked, “I love practicing when the other team wants the ball because it gives you a chance to create something.”
His strategy to defeat Guardiola has been centered around devastating transitions.
Nobody else has been able to replicate it, at least not consistently. The manager who has faced Guardiola the most has been the only one to face him at least eight times and come out on top more times than not. Despite being distributed around Germany and England, Klopp’s 12 victories shared a few characteristics.
The competition between Guardiola and Klopp may determine this season’s Premier League winner.
(PA)
Neither do Klopp’s teams aim to dominate possession of the ball. However, they don’t give up completely either: he reasoned that defeating Manchester City with 20% of the ball “is really rare and your counterattacks have to be spot on.”
If Liverpool is a team that can be inconsistent, they demonstrated this last season when they won 1-0 at Anfield, 32% at the Etihad Stadium in the Champions League, and 36% in the 4-3 victory at Anfield in 2018.
Although Klopp’s teams need to play strong defense, the results show that this hasn’t been the case. 93 goals, or 3.32 goals per game, have been scored in those 28 games, which may just be a testimonial to the attacking prowess of the players on the field.
Klopp’s teams have conceded more goals (48 to 45) but winning more (12 to 11); he is aware that when City is winning, they might appear unbeatable, having recorded 5-0, 4-0, 4-1, and 4-1 triumphs. “We have a chance if we can really make it uncomfortable for them,” Klopp remarked. “No team has a chance if they are at ease with their game.”
Nobody has perhaps made Guardiola’s life more difficult than Klopp. Some of the outlandish choices that have given rise to claims that the Catalan overthinks things have occurred against Liverpool: without much success, Aymeric Laporte has filled in at left back at Anfield, Ilkay Gundogan has played as a pseudo-right winger, and Jack Grealish has filled in as a false nine.
Nevertheless, Klopp stated that it will be difficult for Guardiola to pull a surprise.
He remarked, “It’s not like we have a rabbit in our pocket and pull it out. We are all kind of predictable.” “It’s football, it’s very interesting, and all the pitches are the same size.”
He is aware of City’s desire for the ball and its location. Focus and organization are key, as is knowing when to attempt to take the pressure off of them and whether or not Liverpool can surprise everyone.
He explained, “Now it’s about every space on the pitch you give them that they want to explore.” “They’re eager to play. They are the only team with four defenders, one of whom is the goalie. They not only play inside their own box, but they also take small steps upward. They will back off and adjust if we can find a solution for it.
Guardiola appears to be the more control-oriented of the two, while Klopp is more of a chaos theorist. Nonetheless, he came across as the aggressor and raver, the defensive tactician, the organizer, and the City manager.
When it comes to their personal match, Klopp leads Guardiola 12–11.
(Reuters)
He remarked, “I’m not sure how far you have to dig into our personalities to see who we are like.” “At 56 years old, I’m still not sure who I am, but Pep is undoubtedly the kind of person who gets upset with his guys when they refuse to play ball. I do have that to some extent. To benefit from that, I enjoy organizing other things, and that is deep in my personality
And over the years, that temperament has prepared him for what at first glance appears to be an impossible task: facing Guardiola.
