Manchester City and Liverpool will go head to head in what could be a Premier League title decider this weekend.
The Etihad Stadium will host the latest saga of Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp’s incredible rivalry over the last few seasons. While the Citizens currently have their noses ahead of the Reds in the Premier League, Klopp’s men have already reduced City’s 14-point gap to one singular point, having won their last ten league matches in a row.
City will need to at least halt this terrifying winning streak if they are to remain at the top of the Premier League table. But ahead of this eye-watering clash, Mirror Football looks back on Klopp and Guardiola’s incredible war of words over Sadio Mane in the 2019-20 season.
In the 2018-19 season, Liverpool hosted the Citizens in what was a crucial clash in the Premier League title clash. While the match took place relatively early in the season, the Reds had already amassed a significant five-point lead over Guardiola’s side.
And the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich manager triggered a war of words between his managerial counterpart, by insinuating Mane has a propensity to go down too easily under pressure.
"It's happened a lot for Liverpool in the last years [scoring late on]. It's because he's a special talent," Guardiola said of Mane in 2019. “Sometimes he's diving, sometimes he has this talent to score incredible goals in the last minute. He's a talent.”
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After Guardiola’s stinging words about the Senegalese ace, all eyes turned to Klopp’s press conference which took place shortly after Guardiola’s. “I promise not to mention tactical fouls,” Klopp sarcastically said to the press in defence of his player.
“I am not sure if Pep spoke in that moment about Sadio or the team – both is not too nice to be honest. Somebody showed it to me because I had to see it as everybody told me about it... I couldn’t really believe it to be honest. Then I saw it."
When the two teams eventually took to the field in front of a raucous Anfield atmosphere, Liverpool were the side who emerged victorious. To add extra salt to Guardiola’s wounds, Mane was the player who had the biggest say in the contest, scoring Liverpool’s crucial third goal in a 3-1 victory over the Citizens.
However, Klopp and Guardiola’s exchanges did not end on the final whistle, as their war of words over the former Southampton forward reignited. "I'm not really in the Man City mood at the moment to be honest," Klopp said before Liverpool’s Champions League clash against Genk in 2019.
“I don't think about that. Do I like that he talks about one of my players Sadio Mane? What I can say, and people from other clubs, it's always like this, that's how it is. But, Sadio's not a diver."
When pushed on Klopp’s latest comments, Guardiola appeared to backtrack in his criticism, stating it was “far from my intention to say Sadio is like that”.
Manchester City were able to avenge their loss in the next campaign, drawing 1-1 at home to the Reds, before blowing them away in a 4-1 demolition at Anfield.
The Reds incredible injury problems last season poured cold water on any chances of a fierce title race last season. However, the Reds’ winning machine is up and running at the perfect time – there could be more fireworks to come.
