Man City boss wins support of Klopp
LIVERPOOL manager Jurgen Klopp does not agree with the scrutiny counterpart Pep Guardiola is coming under after Manchester City’s Champions League exit but that does not mean he will be sympathetic towards the Catalan tomorrow.
Klopp has warned his squad they cannot afford to be passive at the Etihad Stadium or they risk being bypassed by City’s ball players and so the plan is likely to be to go on the attack.
Monaco did it for 45 minutes in the south of France in midweek to wipe out a two-goal deficit but found themselves under pressure after the break and only a late goal which levelled the aggregate score at 6-6 allowed them to progress on away goals.
Guardiola and his players were criticised for squandering a two-goal advantage from the first leg and, with fourthplaced Liverpool only a point behind going into this weekend’s clash, the pressure is on to bounce back.
“I am not in doubt about his quality. Maybe a few people are but I am not. I respect him a lot,” said Klopp.
“City could have won the game easily in the second half but because they are human beings they missed a few chances.
“For me City is the most difficult team to play. If you are passive against City you have no chance. You have to be active and to be active you need to be brave.”
Guardiola’s first season has not gone entirely to plan. Having dominated at Barcelona and Bayern Munich with admittedly better squads in less competitive leagues he has found life more difficult in England.
Klopp added: “It is a big difference coming here, the most difficult league in the world.”