TITLE SPITE IS ALL RIGHT
Klopp: Pep’s spiky comments about Liverpool are normal... losing in big semi-final must be difficult to take
JURGEN KLOPP has no issue with Pep Guardiola’s Liverpool comment.. insisting that all is fair in love and title fights.
But the Anfield boss did offer a mild barb of his own, by wondering if his Manchester City counterpart was stung by the fact the Reds reached the Champions League final, while his own side suffered brutal semi-final elimination.
Guardiola stoked the fires by claiming the country wants Liverpool to pip his side to the title and took a dig at their rivals’ record in having won just one league title in three decades. Yet Klopp, speaking before he attempts to lift his side for the visit to Aston Villa tonight, brushed aside the controversy by explaining both managers are tense.
“That is completely normal,” he said. “We all feel the tension. After the Tottenham game it was not like I felt great, but before you can deal with your emotions, you have already faced 20 cameras.
“That is what happens and what Pep did.
“It is all absolutely fine. I had this experience myself recently with comments about Spurs. I don’t know exactly which situation Pep was in, after getting knocked of the
Champions League that is obviously already difficult enough to take.
“But Liverpool made it to the final and then you have these things like, ‘They only played Villarreal, we played Real’ and then you say what you say.
“And he is right on top of it.”
Klopp also wondered if Guardiola
was thinking straight when he claimed everyone supports Liverpool, joking: “It is not the feeling I get when we go to other places and play there, it is actually the opposite!” And he added: “I live in Liverpool so, yes, here a lot of people want us to win the league – but even here it’s probably only 50 percent.
“I think we should take it as a backhanded compliment if he means it.”
Klopp added: “The players’
mood is better after the draw with Spurs. We can take it as it was and say ‘We drew, City won.’ It makes it three points between us and the goal difference has changed. “Or you see it like this; that we were six points behind and they lost and we won and the rest is exactly the same and we would be flying and couldn’t wait to play Aston Villa and bring the next three points. “We can decide for ourselves how we see it. We are allowed to ignore the facts. I try to create, try to help the boys, to see it like me and invite everyone else as well – that’s important.”