Jurgen Klopp praised Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola as the best manager he has ever seen as he prepares his Liverpool players for what may be the final chapter in their enthralling rivalry.
City has won five of the last six Premier League titles, although Liverpool has been their biggest challenger, claiming the trophy in 2020.
The two teams are once again at odds at the top of the league, with Liverpool leading the champions by a single point heading into Sunday’s match at Anfield.
Guardiola, whose club is seeking a second consecutive triple of Champions League, Premier League, and FA Cup, was described as “outstanding in many aspects” by the Liverpool manager.
“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,” Klopp told reporters on Friday.
“How can I judge managers from the past? But in my lifetime he’s the outstanding manager, definitely.”
Klopp has a winning record against Guardiola — coming out on top 12 times against 11 in their 29 meetings.
“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.”
Liverpool has a strong home record against City, with the visitors only winning once since 2003, in front of empty stands during the 2021 coronavirus outbreak.
Klopp stated that playing at home will be a “massive, massive” influence, but added that it was too early to declare the match a title decider.
He was also questioned about statements made by defender Trent Alexander-Arnold this week, who stated in an interview that titles are more important to Liverpool than to Abu Dhabi-backed City.
“He was born in Liverpool… he played through all the youth teams,” said the Liverpool boss. “What would you think in that situation?
“One of our slogans which I love is ‘This means more’ and it means more to us. We have no clue exactly 100 percent what it means to other people.
“It’s just how he feels, how we feel and I’ve absolutely no problem with that.”