Premier League needs Liverpool to challenge Manchester City, says Klopp

Jürgen Klopp has dismissed Pep Guardiola’s claim that the entire country wants Liverpool to win the title but insisted the Premier League would be boring without a serious rival to Manchester City.

Guardiola claimed “everyone in this country supports Liverpool, the media and everyone” and “people want Liverpool to win more than us” in a bizarre outburst following City’s 5-0 rout of Newcastle on Sunday.

Klopp believes the post-match interview illustrated the tension of the title race on Guardiola more than any statement of fact, and likened it to his criticism of Antonio Conte’s tactics after Tottenham’s 1-1 draw at Anfield on Saturday.

But the Liverpool manager considers his team worthy of wider support for delivering a genuine title race and ensuring City do not win a fourth league championship in five seasons at a canter. “Imagine how the situation would be if we were not that close. Then the interviews would be boring,” Klopp said. “You have to make sure there is some excitement and there is an exciting battle for who stays in the league and an exciting battle for who qualifies for the Champions League. But imagine if we were not closer.

“It [Guardiola’s reaction] is completely normal. We all feel the tension, we cannot say we don’t feel it. After the Tottenham game, it is not like I thought: ‘Great’, but before you can deal with your emotions you have already faced 20 cameras. That is what Pep did. I don’t take it as a backhanded compliment. He probably thought he has to make this point. You know much better than I do it is not the case.”

Liverpool can go level on points with City on Tuesday with victory at Aston Villa, albeit having played one game more, but Klopp is adamant Guardiola is mistaken in his view that