Manchester City reignited their title chances on Thursday night, beating leaders Liverpool 2-1 thanks to goals from Sergio Aguero and Leroy Sane.
The Reds had equalised via a Roberto Firmino header, and despite John Stones nearly scoring at the wrong on via an Ederson ricochet, City held on to take a precious three points.
For the managers, it was plainly obvious to see how much the victory meant to Guardiola and from Klopp’s perspective, he’ll need to pick up his players again ahead of their next league game.
It’s certainly not the first time that Klopp and Guardiola have gone head-to-head, with the duo arguably the best managers in world football.
Here, we take a look at the City and Liverpool managers to try and determine, who the best is overall.
Klopp
The loveable German has failed to win at trophy in his three-and-a-half years in charge, but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t come close. Defeats in the UEFA Champions League Final, UEFA Europa League Final and the League Cup final demonstrate the former Borussia Dortmund gaffer is on the cusp of glory.
Klopp has every chance of lifting the Premier League title this term, even though he tasted his first league defeat of the season, the Reds have looked head and shoulders above all their rivals.
Historically, Klopp does have the better overall record between him and Guardiola with eight wins from 16 games, giving him a 50% win ratio. Klopp adheres to a very similar playing style to that of Guardiola, and it has perhaps proven the Spaniards kryptonite in recent years.
Guardiola
The former FC Barcelona man is widely regarded as the best manager in world football, and it’s hard to look past him. Guardiola essentially invented the tika-taka, a quick passing style of play that has so often opened up the best defences.
Guardiola has now won six of his 16 meetings against Klopp, and Thursday night’s win could be the most important. If City are to haul themselves into the clutches of Liverpool once more, it’ll be due to man-management skills of Guardiola.
Like Klopp, he has spent big in the transfer market and after their record-breaking title when in 2018, he’ll want to ensure they can keep hold of their crown. It’ll be no easy task, but Guardiola and his City side are the only ones who can realistically topple the Merseysiders.
Outcome
If truth be told, there’s not a great deal in it when it comes to comparing the two. Granted, Guardiola has lifted more trophies and enjoyed much more success but Klopp is a new breed of manager with an exciting philosophy.
That’s not in any way suggesting Guardiola hasn’t blown world football away with his modern day approach. If truth be told, he has year after year.
The Spaniard gets the nod when comparing with Klopp, but only just. The two managers will continue to rival each other for years to come yet and it’ll be intriguing who is considered the best come the end of their careers.
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