Guardiola pays massive respect to Klopp's Liverpool after Manchester derby win

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola heaps praise on Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool

Speaking to Sky Sports after the Manchester Derby as quoted by Liverpool Echo, Manchester city manager Pep Guardiola called Jurgen Klopp‘s Liverpool ‘outstanding’ and labelled them his toughest opponents in the last 12-13 years.

Both City and Liverpool are battling it out at the top of the table in a race for the Premier League title. The Manchester-based club has a six-point lead over the Merseysiders, despite having played a game more but with both these heavyweights yet to play a match against each other at the Etihad this season, the Reds are very much in the hunt.

City and Liverpool came into this weekend with tricky fixtures to deal with, with the Reds taking on West Ham United and Guardiola’s side taking on Man United in the famous Manchester derby.

Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola are going head to head for the Premier League this season

Liverpool had lost their first tie against David Moyes’ side earlier this season but got their revenge thanks to a Sadio Mane goal that helped them to a 1-0 win over the Hammers. City, meanwhile, thrashed United 4-1, with braces from Kevin de Bruyne and Riyad Mahrez.

The match between Liverpool and City, which could potentially be a title-deciding clash, is scheduled to be held on the 10th of April. When the two sides met earlier this season, both teams ended up scoring 2 goals apiece. Bet on soccer with bet MGM if you think the game in April will end up in another draw.

Whilst the Reds will be hoping not to slip up in any of the fixtures leading into this mouth-watering clash and keep the points gap as minimal as possible, Pep will be hoping that his team can widen the gap at the top of the table if the Merseysiders falter.

Liverpool vs City could be a potential title decider

Speaking to Sky Sports after the derby win against arch-rivals Manchester United, Pep expressed the desire of his team to keep winning.

“I said many times the success as a manager is the fact that year after year we still run like we are there to win again, even after three titles.”

The Spaniard also showered praise on Jurgen Klopp’s side, labelling them as his toughest opponents in more than a decade.

“Liverpool are the toughest opponent I have ever faced in my 12-13 years as a manager.”

Liverpool trio Joel Matip, Roberto Firmino, and Thiago Alcantara ruled out of West Ham United tie. — Jurgen Klopp knows his team will have to be at the top of their game to beat City.

Big praise?

Pep’s comments would come as humongous praise for Klopp’s men. Having managed the likes of Barcelona and Bayern Munich in the past, the Spaniard has come up against giants of European football- and claiming Liverpool are his toughest opponents yet is another feather in our German manager’s cap.

While the Cityzens have been in scintillating form this season both in the Premier League and Europe, they are not invincible as some may perceive them to be, just like Antonio Conte’s side showed us a couple of weeks ago.

Meanwhile, Liverpool started the season in tremendous fashion and have lost just 1 game till now in the Premier League. They have been building steam in the past few days and look well equipped to take the title charge heads on with Guardiola’s side.

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It is hard to see who wins the title from here. City’s showing against Man United would have made some Liverpool fans very nervous, but it was a club we ourselves thrashed 5-0 earlier this season. The PL is an unpredictable league and the best we as LFC fans can hope for right now is to take it one game at a time and see where we stand when the showdown at the Etihad happens in April.