Premier League 2021-22 review: managers of the season

Jürgen Klopp is happy to call his rival the world’s best coach, and few would deny that Guardiola has revolutionised the game in Spain, Germany and now England. With Erling Haaland signed up for next season, this may be recalled as the season Guardiola captured the Premier League title without a recognised striker, often using the only one within his squad, Gabriel Jesus, as a shuttler down the flanks.

Within Guardiola’s complicated makeup there is a desire to do things differently, to throw back orthodoxy. It helps to have a huge budget and wonderful players but he remains relentless in capturing league titles via innovation.

City’s repeated Champions League psychodramas count against him, when peers such as Klopp and Carlo Ancelotti suffer no such mental blocks. Nights such as the collapse at Real Madrid seem to eat into Guardiola’s soul, his eyes betraying their horror. The accusation is that his players are unable to think for themselves in moments of pressure.

In recent months, Guardiola has gone public with his defence of City, kicking against other clubs. To mastery has been added prickliness and vulnerability. The flaws add to the fascination with a football genius.

After last season, when Liverpool crept into the Champions League at the end of a poor title defence, many suggested the Klopp era had peaked in the years between 2018 and 2020, and that the club had not trousered enough trophies during that time.

They were wholly wrong. Klopp reached the middle of May on the brink of a quadruple, Liverpool having developed a fresh taste for domestic cup competitions. The return of Virgil van Dijk helped, as did the forward line finding form again, and the flourishing of Thiago Alcântara in midfield. Plus astute