Klopp kicks off over derby switch after landing City tie

MANCHESTER CITY must knock Liverpool out of the Champions League to stay in the running for an historic Treble after the clubs were drawn together in the quarter-finals. The Premier League responded by moving the Merseyside derby forward by 26 hours to a lunchtime kick-off on Saturday, April 7 — sending Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp into a rage. His side face City in the first leg of the European tie at Anfield on April 4, meaning Klopp has less time to prepare for an Everton game that is vital to Liverpool’s top-four hopes. ‘Whoever made the schedule didn’t think we’d go to the quarter-finals. Oops,’ he said. Klopp would have preferred Liverpool to avoid this assignment but as he watched the footage from UEFA’s headquarters in Nyon, the German took note of how Txiki Begiristain, Manchester City’s sporting director, reacted — head bowed and brow furrowed. ‘When you think about the draw, if it is the team around the corner you can go by bus, you don’t want it,’ said Klopp. ‘They didn’t want us. We all know about that.’ Begiristain, who pointed out that City won the first meeting between the sides this season 5-0, countered: ‘We are playing against a Premier League team, it’s something that you don’t like when you play Champions League but it’s what it is, we have to accept it.’ FULL QUARTER-FINAL DRAW: Barcelona v Roma, Sevilla v Bayern Munich, Juventus v Real Madrid, Liverpool v Manchester City. (Ties to be played April 3-4 and April 10-11).