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Jurgen Klopp calls Pep Guardiola world's best coach ahead of Man City vs Liverpool

Jurgen Klopp takes his Liverpool team to the Etihad Stadium on Sunday knowing a win would leap-frog Pep Guardiola's Manchester City to the top of the Premier League

Jurgen Klopp has paid the ultimate compliment to his old adversary Pep Guardiola as the managers prepare for their crucial Premier League clash.

Klopp takes his Liverpool team to the Etihad Stadium on Sunday knowing a victory would help them rise above Manchester City to the top of the table with seven games left after the weekend.

Guardiola joked before City's quarter-final win over Atletico Madrid earlier this week that he "overthinks a lot" in the Champions League.

It left confusion in some areas of the media but Klopp had nothing but praise for his Spanish rival.

Klopp baffled

The Liverpool boss said: "It was ironic! I saw there was a story in Ecuador this week which claimed I didn't understand Luis Diaz. You have a responsibility on this planet.
"If you want to talk to us then please do us a favour and help us. Pep said ironically, 'I overthink, and I like overthinking'.
"Pep is the best coach in the world. I think we would all agree on that and it might be a coincidence that it didn't work out in the Champions League so far. If anybody doubts him, I have no idea how that could happen.
"We all think a lot, and it's the reason why sometimes we make mistakes and then find out the right things to do. In football, you find out precisely after the game and not before and that's why we try to imagine what could happen and what we can do which can help us be more independent of the opponent."
The pair have been involved in some heated battles in recent seasons. The one that stands out was in 2018-19 when City pipped Liverpool to the title by a point despite a record points haul for the runners' up.

While Klopp is obviously not delighted at the high standards of Guardiola's side he realises it has helped to inspire the growth of his players, contributing towards their first title for 30 years in 2019-20 with a 19-point advantage over City.

The German added: "I wouldn't say I'm thankful that City is that good but it didn't deny our development.
"The last four years since we stepped up a little bit and could close the gap to City is interesting.
"We pushed each other to incredible points tallies. Madness. I would have never thought these kind of things were possible, especially not in this league. The consistency both teams showed in that period was absolutely crazy."

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