Comparing a football fixture between two great teams to that of a heavyweight boxing clash may very well be the oldest analogy in sport. It is an easy one to conjure, after all. So it was no surprise to hear Jurgen Klopp reach for the same comparison in the wake of Liverpool’s 2-2 draw with Manchester City on Sunday afternoon.
After seeing the best teams in England play out a pulsating, breathless contest for the second time this season, Klopp likened the pair to a couple of high-profile prizefighters.
"I know how intense it is," he said after the game. "Because the concentration levels in these games are incredible. I've said it before, it is like two boxers, two heavyweights. The moment you drop your arms you get such a knock in the middle of your face and then you have to get up again and you have to try to control it again."
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And after City took the lead inside five minutes at the Etihad on Sunday, it was fitting to extend the metaphor further with a famous quote from the iconic Mike Tyson.
"Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face," Tyson is quoted as saying during a reign of terror that redefined the heavyweight division of professional boxing in the late-1980s.
Liverpool, after one of the most hyped and intense build-ups to a game in years, came to the Etihad with a plan. That was until Kevin De Bruyne's early strike punched them in the face.
From then on, the Reds' first half in Manchester was characterised by the uncharacteristic. Klopp's carefully orchestrated gameplan went out the window as the Liverpool defence became hurried, ragged and panicked in possession. An out-of-sync backline and midfield were unable to catch their breath as City's impressive press forced them to continually hand over the ball in dangerous areas of the pitch.
It's a style that is not too dissimilar to how Liverpool like to dismantle when they are at their fluent best, even if City's particular way of operating relies more on the perfectly-coached geometry of their angles and precision where Klopp's team engulf and overwhelm.
At 1-0 down after five minutes inside the lion's den, it would have been easy for Liverpool, when confronted with the rarity of their flustered state, to have stayed down for the count. We could so easily have been reading tales of a landmark victory for Pep Guardiola en route to a fourth title in five years on Monday morning.
But Klopp's side, to move the boxing analogies on even further, have proven they have a chin that is carved of granite. Just two defeats all season is proof enough of that and even when they are on the ropes, their resilience usually makes itself known.
It is perhaps why they will head into Saturday's FA Cup semi-final with the same opponents in the more positive mood of the two clubs. A 3-1 win in Lisbon last week means they should, barring a shocking collapse, have enough in reserve to emerge past Benfica in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final on Wednesday night at Anfield.
City, in stark contrast, have a lot of work ahead of them as they are entertained by the pre-eminent scufflers of European football themselves in Diego Simeone's teak tough and battle-hardened Atletico Madrid. Even if you make Guardiola's men the favourites for the tie given their 1-0 win in Manchester last week, the visitors will be made to work overtime for any result they earn in the Spanish capital.
It is a difference in situations that Guardiola was keen to hint at after the game on Sunday, saying: "When we are at this stage of all competitions, we don't have time to rest. We have to go to Madrid and then Saturday we have to play against them again and they play at home [against Benfica]. Now we rest and then go to Madrid against a different opponent in Atletico."
That, depending on what happens this week in the Champions League, could yet be a deciding factor on just who makes it to the FA Cup final next month. Unlike Sunday afternoon, Liverpool will need to ensure they bob and weave in the early exchanges at the national stadium before they begin their own onslaught. Seconds out, round two to come.
