It appears that the celebration mood that Liverpool boss, Jurgen Klopp found himself last season hindered him from preparing for the team’s last meeting against Manchester City at the Etihad.
Liverpool emerged Premier League Champions for the first time in three decades last season after Chelsea defeated Pep Guardiola’s men 2-1 at the Stamford Bridge.
This, the German admitted that might have led to a lack of ideas to set up his lads for their next game which came against the Citizens. In response to their disappointing loss at Stamdford Bridge, City thrashed Liverpool 4-0.
Klopp, who admitted getting his preparations wrong for the game is speaking ahead of today’s clash with City inside the same Stadium.
Liverpool is going into the clash with five points gap between both sides, although City has a game in hand. A win will take Liverpool to the summit while a win for the hosts will take them closer to the top 6.
“It was the first time we had won the league so I had no idea how to prepare the next game,” said Reds boss Klopp.
“I didn’t want to overdo it and say ‘Forget what happened three days ago or so – now it’s City and we can show the whole world’.
“I am not sure if that was right or wrong. I know my boys wanted to win that game but we were not as focused as we are usually in these games,” he said.
Will Klopp be able to smile against Manchester City at the Etihad?
Manchester City has already suffered some setbacks this season, with Guardiola complaining about congested fixtures.
It got to a point that the Spanish tactician was without any of his strikers and City couldn’t afford another in the summer transfer market.
But the situation has changed after being on seven games unbeaten run. With the return of Gabriel Jesus, who scored in their last game, they could also give Liverpool a tough game.
Klopp won’t be surprised as he has already described the tie as the hardest game in the world.
Liverpool is also currently on a 6 games unbeaten run after suffering a 7-2 loss against Aston Villa. The defending champions are coming into this tie on the back of 5-0 win over high-scoring Atalanta at Gewiss Stadium in the Champions League during the midweek.
Klopp is the only manager who has succeeded in defeating Guardiola more times than any other manager with nine wins in 19 games, including in Germany, where they managed Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich respectively.
“We should meet much more often but I’m happy we don’t because of the quality his teams have.
“I am not aware of any records but I knew we met from time to time and we didn’t lose all of them but the games were incredibly difficult,” said Klopp.
Will Raheem Sterling hunt Liverpool again?
Raheem Sterling will be going into this tie in hot form, having scored 5 goals in 11 games. The English winger has scored 94 goals in 207 games under Pep Guardiola.
He is going to start against a side he left to join City in 2015. Having worked with Lionel Messi at Barcelona, Guardiola says Raheem Sterling is one of the best players he has ever managed.
“I think he is a better player than when he arrived and hopefully in four years he will be a better player than he is right now. I think he is an exceptional player.
“He has played all these minutes because of his physicality and [on Sunday] he will be there again.
“Of course there will be a moment he will take a rest but at the moment he is so important a player for us, that’s why we cannot give it.
“He is one of the [most] fantastic players I ever had in my career as a manager.”
