Jurgen Klopp has described Chelsea as “incredibly strong,” while stressing that Thomas Tuchel’s team is “not that far” behind Liverpool and Manchester City.
The Blues were unable to win any domestic trophies due to Liverpool and City’s dominance during the previous season, despite their victories in the Club World Cup and the European Super Cup.
After two scoreless draws at Wembley Stadium, Klopp’s Reds were victorious in both the League Cup and the FA Cup by virtue of their penalty shootout victories over Tuchel’s side. Both of these victories came after the matches ended in a draw.
In the Premier League, Pep Guardiola’s City defeated Liverpool to win by one point on the decisive final day, while Chelsea trailed the Reds by a stunning 18 points. It was City’s fourth title in five years.
The west London club drew all four of their matches against Klopp’s team last season despite the disparity, and the German manager thinks they will continue to be a threat in the upcoming campaign.
When asked if he believes Liverpool and City would continue to compete for the top domestic honors in English football in the future, Klopp was quick to point out Chelsea’s talent and claim that the Blues are closer to challenging the top two than many people believe.
“We are not that far ahead”, Klopp told ESPN.
“That’s always a misunderstanding of the points tally of last season. We played Chelsea four times, and although I have no idea how many more points we had than them, we failed to win a single match against them.
“No, we were pretty well in those matches; it’s just that before the penalties [in the Carabao Cup and FA Cup finals], we never managed to win. As a result, Chelsea are incredibly powerful.”
In addition to showering praise on Tuchel’s team, Klopp also noted the development that appears to have been made by Tottenham, Arsenal, and Manchester United in the off-season.
The German added: “You need to take a close look at Tottenham and what they are currently doing. This year, they didn’t grow worse. Arsenal is still present, Man United has a fresh start, and similar things.”
Last season, Liverpool finished with a staggering 92 points in the Premier League and played the maximum number of fixtures, as they qualified for both the domestic cup finals and the Champions League final.
Jurgen Klopp admitted he will not reflect on Liverpool’s accomplishments from the previous season and insisted the current season presents a new challenge.
“I’m not interested in the points we had last year, I’m only interested in what we can get this season,” he added. “But I am positive, really optimistic, but I’m not sure, so we will have to fight and see what the outcome is.”
With the recent additions of Raheem Sterling and Koulibaly, Chelsea is now appearing more serious than before. As a result, they will likely score more points and win one or more trophies in the 2022–2023 season.
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