Reporter Han Bing reported Years from now, when people look back on the last Premier League match between Klopp and Guardiola, they will praise the classic game. The score was only 1 to 1, or it could be 5 to 5. Each team played well for half of the game. There is no doubt that this is the top football game in the Premier League and even Europe. The pace is almost breathtaking. The game fully demonstrated the football philosophy of the two famous coaches. This may be the best 1-1 draw that fans have ever seen. Of course, the biggest beneficiary is Arsenal who remain at the top of the list, but when the final whistle blows and Klopp embraces Guardiola, smiling and hugging each other for a long time, it may no longer matter who is at the top.
For this "Battle of Heavenly Kings", which may decide the Premier League championship, the pre-match ticket price has been raised to an astonishing 6,500 pounds, while the ticket price for Premier League games at Anfield is generally only 60 pounds. Merseyside Police also attached great importance to the incident, after all, there had just been a high-risk incident in which a fan smashed a Manchester United bus with a cider bottle. The Manchester City bus has been attacked in recent matches between the two teams, and the local police will be on high alert. Fortunately, everything was safe in the end.
The two famous coaches expressed sympathy to each other before the game. Klopp said Guardiola was the best coach. However, Klopp did not rule out the possibility of playing Guardiola again for the rest of the season. After all, both teams have entered the FA Cup quarterfinals. This is the 30th meeting between Klopp and Guardiola. Previously, Klopp had a slight advantage with 12 wins, 6 draws and 11 losses. Both of them are coaches who have lost the most in each other's coaching careers.
However, Guardiola is dominant in the Premier League with 5 wins, 6 draws and 4 losses. Liverpool has 13 wins, 6 draws and only 1 loss in the last 20 home games against Manchester City. Manchester City has only won twice at Anfield in the past 42 years. In February 2021, due to the epidemic, Manchester City won 4-1. Opta predicts that Liverpool's odds of winning will be 54%, while Manchester City's odds will drop to 29%; a draw with Manchester City's odds of winning will be 48%, and Liverpool's odds will drop to 33%; if Manchester City wins, the odds of winning will reach 68%, and Liverpool's odds will be 17%. The above 3 options The situation is that Arsenal's odds of winning are less than 20%, but Arsenal is the biggest beneficiary in the end. Neither of the two major championship rivals scored 3 points. This is the seventh time that the two famous coaches are tied.
Liverpool lacks goalkeeper Alisson, defender Matip, Alexander-Arnold, midfielder Hrafenbech, Thiago, C. Jones, Bajcetic and Jota. Last week, the first leg of the UEFA Europa League 1/8 finals Injured Konate again. Salah's return from injury is a major benefit. The Egyptian superstar had 11 goals and 6 assists against Manchester City in 19 previous games, including a goal in October 2022 that helped Liverpool defeat Manchester City 1-0 at home. For Manchester City, Grealish and M. Nunes are absent. M. Nunes dislocated his finger in the Champions League 1/8 finals last Wednesday. Doku strained his thigh muscle and returned to the bench. Manchester City has one more day of rest than Liverpool, and Liverpool still have to travel back and forth from Prague. In the last 19 Premier League encounters between the two teams, the team that scored first lost only one game, which shows the importance of seizing the opportunity. However, Manchester City has won 9 consecutive away games and is unbeaten in 20 games. This season, Liverpool has recovered 22 points from behind to rank first in the Premier League, but has only kept one clean sheet in its last 9 home games.
Guardiola's 343 was as usual, but Klopp could only send youngster Elliott into the front trident, leaving Salah and Robinson on the bench. The young Quasa and Van Dijk partnered as central defenders, while Bradley continued on the right. The game entered a high-speed and intense rhythm from the beginning. Manchester City took the lead and kept shooting, but it was Liverpool who got the chance to score first. In the 19th minute, Nunez cross-passed Dias and shot an empty goal, which was invalid for offside. Four minutes later, De Bruyne's corner kick allowed Stones to take the lead, but Ake blocked McAllister in advance. A foul at the front post was suspected.
In the 47th minute of the second half, Ake made a mistake in returning the pass. Goalkeeper Edsson was injured after uprooting Nunez and retired from the game. McAllister took a penalty kick to equalize the score. Salah and Doku came off the bench to strengthen the offenses of the two teams, but Liverpool's stormy offense came to nothing. Dias missed two leading opportunities, and Manchester City substitute goalkeeper Ortega also blocked Nunez's goal. A goal must be scored, and the goal frame also blocked the shots of Foden and Doku. In the stoppage time, there were climaxes. In the 4th minute of stoppage time, Salah passed a cross in front of the goal and Hakpo hit the crossbar and rebounded to score the goal. Salah was ruled as offside by var and was invalid.Liverpool has scored 10 times in stoppage time this season, but unfortunately it failed to beat Manchester City this time. Doku then kicked McAllister in the chest, which became the biggest penalty controversy in this game.
Klopp found referee Oliver after the game and argued that Doku had committed a foul, but at the press conference he praised the team's performance in the second half, and at the same time dismissed Stones' goal for allegedly blocking a defensive player, because it was indeed a fait accompli. There is nothing that can be done about the change. Klopp stressed that no one should be popping champagne to celebrate regardless of the result. Because the season is far from over, the suspense of the trophy is still there. Champagne should be reserved for those who witnessed this great game as a precious souvenir of farewell. 59,947 people flooded into Anfield Stadium for this game, setting a record for the highest number of spectators in the history of a Premier League match between the two teams. Guardiola, who narrowly escaped being killed at the last moment, emphasized that Klopp will come back because he loves football too much: "He made us a better team and made me a better coach. There is no relationship between us. It goes without saying that there is no need to express respect through hugging."
Duoku's foul may be discussed for a long time, but the game itself will also be remembered for a long time. The content of this Tianwang Mountain battle is rich, far better than the 1-1 score and the ranking of the top three. Most importantly, people saw the best of Klopp and Guardiola.
