The Spanish head coach says his clashes with Liverpool had been more durable than these in opposition to Los Blancos
Pep Guardiola has claimed the best problem of his managerial profession was Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool moderately than Actual Madrid, regardless of his Manchester City aspect being knocked out of the Champions League by the Spanish membership for the third consecutive season.
Madrid eradicated Metropolis 5-1 on mixture within the last-16, Federico Valverde’s hat-trick giving the LaLiga aspect a 3-0 win on the Bernabeu within the first leg earlier than Vinicius Junior struck twice in Manchester to seal a 2-1 win within the second.
Talking at his post-match press convention, Guardiola pushed again when requested whether or not Madrid represented his hardest rivals. “No, my largest problem was Jurgen Klopp with Liverpool, in these years right here. You had been in Spain, you didn’t realise what that competitors was.”
The Metropolis supervisor additionally mirrored on his membership’s broader relationship with European soccer’s most embellished aspect. “It’s been studying expertise for the membership, as a result of this can be a membership that 12 or 13 years in the past was by no means in Europe.
“Enjoying so many instances in opposition to Actual Madrid, with the era we’ve had, we’ve accomplished it. They’ve received, we’ve received. The numbers are related, they’ve knocked us out greater than we have now them. However they know the way we’ve performed.”
File in opposition to Madrid
Guardiola has confronted Actual Madrid 30 instances all through his profession, first throughout his 4 years with Barcelona in La Liga, after which in European competitors with Bayern Munich and Metropolis. His total report reads 14 wins, six attracts and ten losses.
Lately nevertheless, the stability has shifted closely in Madrid’s favour. Metropolis have been eradicated by the Spanish aspect in 2022, 2024, 2025 and now 2026, the one exception being 2023, when Guardiola’s aspect beat Madrid within the semi-finals on their method to finishing a historic treble.
His head-to-head report in opposition to Klopp, in contrast, was way more evenly contested. Within the Bundesliga they met eight instances, with Guardiola successful 4, Klopp three and one drawn.
Within the Premier League, Klopp narrowly got here out on prime with eight wins to Guardiola’s six, and eight attracts. By way of trophies throughout their concurrent tenures at Metropolis and Liverpool, nevertheless, Guardiola received six titles to Klopp’s one.
