Liverpool’s boss Jurgen Klopp set aside his competitive side ahead of their eagerly awaited clash with Manchester City this coming weekend, hailing Pep Guardiola as the best manager he has witnessed in his lifetime. City has won 5 of the previous six Premier League titles, although Liverpool has been their major competitor over the last decade, claiming the trophy in 2020.
The two teams are once again at odds at the top of the league, with Liverpool leading the title race by a single point heading into Sunday’s match at Anfield.
The 56-year-old Klopp praised Guardiola for being “outstanding in many aspects” and claimed that his club is aiming for a second straight triple of the Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup.
On Friday Klopp told reporters, “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.” He added, “How can I judge managers from the past? But in my lifetime he’s the outstanding manager, definitely.”
Klopp, who will leave Liverpool at the end of the season, has a 12–11 win–loss record against Guardiola in their 29 matches.
“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.”
