Mauricio Pochettino: Nothing personal between Jurgen Klopp and me

Mauricio Pochettino insisted there is nothing personal between him and Jurgen Klopp ahead of Chelsea's Carabao Cup final meeting with Liverpool on Sunday.

The pair faced off in the 2019 Champions League final when the Argentinian was in charge of Tottenham, losing 2-0 in Madrid to hand his opposite number a first trophy at Anfield.

The game is remembered for controversy after Spurs’ Moussa Sissoko was penalised for a contentious handball inside the opening minute, resulting in Mohamed Salah giving Liverpool the lead from the spot.

More recently the Reds were 4-1 winners against Chelsea in the Premier League at the end of January, when Pochettino’s side were outclassed by their hosts and fell well short of expectations set by the more than £1bn it cost to assemble their squad.

Since then there has been a notable upturn in performances, with three impressive away results including a 1-1 draw against Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium a week ago.

As he seeks his first silverware in England, the 51-year-old said neither he nor his players are motivated by revenge against their Wembley opponents.

"It’s nothing against Jurgen Klopp or Liverpool," he said. "We love to compete with the best teams and Liverpool as a club, and Klopp with his coaching staff and the players, I think they are amazing. You love to compete with this type of organisation.

"It’s not personal against Klopp or against Liverpool to have revenge. It’s a challenge for us to say 'we have the possibility to write history, winning a trophy’. That is our biggest motivation. That is my motivation."

Chelsea followed the loss on Merseyside with a dismal 4-2 defeat at home to Wolves that saw sections of the home support boo the team off.

Since then, the atmosphere around