Pure tension in the top battle: Reds coach Klopp just wants to enjoy the title race

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His 300th victory as coach of Liverpool FC “of course” brought a smile to Jürgen Klopp’s face. “I’m very happy with how we did, three points, let’s move on,” the team manager said via the Sky microphone. He didn’t even know that after the international break he had more than “just” to celebrate the 2-1 against Brighton.

During his farewell tour, the 56-year-old is once again in pole position for the Reds in the exciting Premier League title race. Thanks to the goalless draw in the direct match between Manchester City and Arsenal FC, LFC took over the top of the table nine matchdays before the end of the season.

After the hard-fought success against Brighton, coached by Roberto De Zerbi, Klopp joked. What result did he most want for the next big game in Manchester? “Both lose,” Klopp replied – and even though the result clearly didn’t reflect that, his wish was in some ways fulfilled by the draw.

Guardiola considers Liverpool the favourite

Former leaders Arsenal could not distance themselves from City, and three-time winners City could not put any pressure on Liverpool. With 67 points, Liverpool is now two points ahead of Arsenal (65), followed by Champions League winners City in third place (64). Direct matches between the three rivals will no longer take place in the remainder of the Premier League season. City team manager Pep Guardiola demonstratively gave Liverpool the role of favorite: “Whoever is in front is always the favorite.”

Kai Havertz didn’t want to speculate. “I think it is still too early to look into the future now. We have nine games left. “So much can happen,” said Arsenal’s Germany international. The three teams would leave “almost no points. And yes, we have to concentrate on ourselves, try to win our games, get points and then we’ll see what happens in the end.”

Klopp wants to ‘enjoy’ his farewell tour

The same should apply to Klopp, who, when asked about his anniversary victory as LFC team manager, was mainly interested in his lost games. “I could immediately think of a number of games that we absolutely did not have to lose,” Klopp said in a talkative mood. “We could have reached 300 wins sooner.”

With a few more successes, Klopp could say goodbye at the end of the season with more than the English League Cup title he has already won. In the Europa League, Liverpool is favored against Atalanta Bergamo in the quarter-finals and in the Premier League, the prospects for its second championship with Liverpool after 2020 have definitely improved since Sunday.

“We’ll see how it turns out,” Klopp said. “I’ve decided that I’m really going to do my best to enjoy it.” (AFP)

Source : Blick