Sky Sports commentator Martin Tyler has insisted Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola is wrong in his assessment that everyone in the country is a Liverpool fan.
The three-time Premier League winning manager made the bold claim when discussing how differently the two sides vying at the top of the table for the title are perceived. "Everyone in this country supports Liverpool, the media and everyone," the City boss told beIN Sports.
He followed the comment up with a not-so-subtle dig about Liverpool's domestic struggles pre- Jurgen Klopp. "Of course because Liverpool has an incredible history in European competition," Guardiola added. "Not in the Premier League, because they have won one in 30 years, but it is not a problem at all."
Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher brought up the claim while covering the Reds trip to Southampton alongside Tyler. Once the commentator was reminded of Guardiola mentioning how he feels everyone is a Liverpool fan, Tyler replied: "Yeah he did, and I'd like to take issue with him on that.
"The only time I can think of the whole country wanting a team to win was Leicester (in the 2015-16 season). We support the underdogs here, you can't call Manchester City or Liverpool an underdog."
Klopp also responded to Guardiola's comments at the time, claiming the City boss was speaking in the heat of the moment. "I live in Liverpool so, yes, here a lot of people want us to win the league, that's true, but even here it's probably only 50 per cent," the German added, referring to Merseyside rivals Everton.
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"I have no idea if the whole country is supporting us, it's not the feeling I get when we go to places, it's actually the opposite. Maybe he knows more about that than me." Klopp could barely hide his grin as he addressed Guardiola's statement.
While Liverpool have registered an important 2-1 win at St. Mary's, Guardiola's men are still expected to lift a fourth title in five seasons with their one point advantage going into the final day of the Premier League season. It is exactly the same dynamic as the final day of the season three years ago, when City had 90 points to Liverpool's 89 with one game left.
It does mean the title race will go down to the last day, where Liverpool take on Wolves at home while City welcome an Aston Villa side led by Reds icon Steven Gerrard to the Etihad as the Villa boss looks to do his former side the ultimate favour.
