Pep Guardiola refuses to answer Jurgen Klopp question ahead of Man City vs Liverpool
Pep Guardiola is still getting used to facing Liverpool without having Jurgen Klopp in the opposite dugout and the Manchester City boss is reluctant to compare his old rival to new foe Arne Slot
by Nathan Ridley · The MirrorPep Guardiola refused to answer a question on whether table-topping Liverpool are stronger now than under Jurgen Klopp.
Liverpool are currently eight points clear of Arsenal at the Premier League summit, with Guardiola's Manchester City down in fourth. The two teams go head-to-head on Sunday and it'll be Arne Slot in the dugout for Liverpool, who beat City 2-0 earlier in the season.
Despite Slot enjoying a dominant first season, putting him on course to match Klopp's league title record in just one year, Guardiola doesn't want to compare the Dutchman to his old rival. "I'm not going to answer that question," the City boss asserted. "I have much respect for Jurgen and I know you want to go but I will not play that game."
In a separate answer, Guardiola paid tribute to Slot's work, having replaced Klopp in the summer. "The level of consistency is quite similar with Jurgen," he explained. "They deserve to be up there with Arsenal fighting for the title. Big compliments and a top team in many aspects, otherwise cannot lose just one game in the Premier League [this season]. That's why it's a good test for us."
Guardiola has previously described Klopp as the 'biggest rival' of his coaching career. "He put me at another level, to think about it and to prove myself to be a better manager, to try to beat them," he declared last year. "That is the reason why I am still in this business. Some managers - and Jurgen is one of them - challenge you to make a step forward."
No one has beaten Guardiola more times in his managerial career than Klopp's 12 and the pair developed a mutual respect while facing each other in the Premier League and prior to that, the Bundesliga in the Germany. But now City are facing a different Liverpool, one whose defensive solidity has been called into question after a largely imperious first half of the season.
Will Manchester City bounce back against Liverpool? Give us your score prediction in the comments section.
"I don't know, it's a question for Arne," Guardiola, whose own side are reeling from Wednesday's 3-1 loss to Real Madrid, said when asked about Liverpool's defence. "For me, it's an exceptional team that have been my biggest rival in my time here. Arsenal in the last years have been involved as well but I could [only] describe Liverpool being in the position they are."
Liverpool's last win away to City in the Premier League came in November 2015, the season before Guardiola took charge. The Reds did, though, pull off a 2-1 victory at the Etihad in the 2018 Champions League quarter-finals.
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