Mutual loathing creates a proper rivalry at last
Respect has been tested to breaking point by barbed comments. Fans now know that Liverpool and City cannot stand each other, giving an extra edge to title race
‘It only needs the suggestion of an insult for a coach to fire up his players and, in Anfield’s case, whip up the Kop’
Ihad an immediate thought when I heard Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp exchange barbed comments ahead of Liverpool v Manchester City this week. “About time.” There was something unnatural about the Premier League’s two leading managers competing for the title without an extra edge to their relationship.
Until the past seven days, the mutual respect was denying us a feud to match the early years of Sir Alex Ferguson v Arsene Wenger or Jose Mourinho v Rafael Benitez.
I am not encouraging all-out verbal warfare between the City and Liverpool managers, but when one club are a direct threat to the ambitions of another, the tensions, frustrations and irritations will surface. As long as it remains within the boundaries of good taste, it is hugely entertaining.
There is not a football fan among us who does not love a managerial scrap. Guardiola and Klopp already know their trophy haul at the end of their careers will be lighter directly because of the other. That has to irk them.
City’s extraordinary run last season denied Klopp and Liverpool what, in any other year, would have been a deserved title. Whatever the appearances publicly, and whatever the consolation of being Champions League winners, this was a cause for despair on Merseyside and there is a determination not to endure a repeat.
Equally, it is not hard to imagine the annoyance at the Etihad when Liverpool won the Champions League and the global coverage dwarfed City’s achievement of an unprecedented domestic treble. City’s past couple of title wins filled the news cycle for 24 hours. Because of Liverpool’s size and popularity, a first title in 30 years at Anfield will undoubtedly generate much more media attention.
The hierarchies of Liverpool and
City cannot stand each other, resentments which are reflected in the fan bases. City appear to suspect Liverpool of lobbying the governing bodies to investigate the legality of their transfer spending, while City make no secret of their believing the positive coverage of the Klopp era is disproportionate when compared to Guardiola’s trophy haul, and City’s in general since the Abu Dhabi takeover.
There is also evidence of City actively encouraging negative stories about Liverpool – witness the briefing about fears of another attack on City’s bus as happened in the Champions League quarterfinals in 2018, and Guardiola’s comments about Sadio Mane diving. As Klopp suggested, it certainly feels like Guardiola talks about Liverpool more than Klopp does Manchester City, and City generally seem preoccupied with how Liverpool are portrayed in the media. These tensions have never been echoed by the managers or players, many of whom appear to be friends as they are international team-mates. The admiration between the coaches is obvious.
What made Guardiola’s dig at Mane so surprising – and may explain why he later backtracked – is it only inflamed the ill will at Anfield before City’s visit, finally provoking Klopp to retaliate.
Whether Guardiola had made the remark or not, Anfield will be at its most hostile, but he has not helped his players with the timing. These games are now comparable to the visits of Chelsea after Mourinho took over in 2004. He had a habit of being disparaging about Liverpool in the build-up to Anfield visits and people would wonder how we felt about it in the dressing room.
Honestly? We absolutely loved it. You know all the cliches about motivation and helping the manager’s team talks? They are true. It only needs the suggestion of an insult to enable a coach to fire up his players and, in Liverpool’s case, whip up the Kop.
Klopp’s reference to City’s “tactical fouling” was a shot back, echoing comments by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer last season.
Guardiola seemed to acknowledge his miscalculation by refusing to comment about Liverpool in midweek. Some suggested he was being cynical and deliberate with his earlier observations about Mane. They struck me as more emotional than calculated. Liverpool have secured seven extra points just when it seemed they would draw, or even lose a game – points that would give the Premier League table a different complexion.
Mane has been fundamental to that by winning two penalties, one of which was contentious against Leicester City. Having heard Mane had scored the last-minute winner last Saturday – and been booked for diving – in the game at Aston Villa, Guardiola betrayed his emotions in the TV interview following his own team’s late win over Southampton. For a brief moment he must have thought the gap was down to four or even three points, only to recognise it could be nine by Sunday night.
Why would that not infuriate you? It is nothing to do with “mind games”. Guardiola sounded more like a fan who could not hide how fed up he was that his direct rival had won in the last minute again. If Mane had not been the match-winner, I doubt he would have bitten on the question.
Klopp’s response seemed more considered. He has home advantage and there is no manager better at utilising that.
He knows Anfield is in Guardiola’s head. The City manager admitted as much in an honest interview during which he was hugely flattering to Liverpool at the end of last season. Liverpool v City is now the biggest game of the season for both managers, for the Premier League, and arguably the most attractive fixture in world football given how both teams play.
A Liverpool win would make it very difficult for City to retain their title. A City win would re-establish them as favourites, knowing the only difference between the teams would be a home win at the Etihad later this season. We cannot be sure how many more battles between these two super-coaches remain, so we should cherish every second. There is nothing phoney about this “war” between the clubs and the managers.