Jurgen Klopp has leapt to the defence of Trent Alexander-Arnold after the Liverpool vice-captain’s comments about Manchester City this week.
Ahead of the Premier League’s top two facing off at Anfield on Sunday, the 25-year-old caused something of a stir when saying that ‘our trophies will mean more to us and our fanbase because of the situations at both clubs, financially’.
Erling Haaland and Ruben Dias both shot back publicly at the Scouser over that remark, and predictably there’s been quite the back-and-forth on social media between fans of the two clubs involved.
The matter was brought up during Klopp’s press conference on Friday afternoon, and the Liverpool manager was keen to stress that Trent – and everyone at Anfield – has the height of respect for City.
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The 56-year-old said (via Liverpool Echo): “I am not sure how often we have to say in this club how often we respect City. Pep is the best manager in the world. I have a good life not being even close to that, incredible players.
“The best No.9 [Haaland]. [Kevin] De Bruyne will go down in history with Steven Gerrard, imagine that conversation! Phil Foden, the best English player. Trent understands that but he is a Liverpool fan. Our slogan ‘This Means More’ means it means more to us.”
Klopp continued: “You love these interviews when someone says what they think and the whole world [reacts]. It’s still allowed to think what we want. There’s nothing wrong with what Trent said, in my view.”
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It’s impossible to escape the truth that, despite Man City having vastly superior financial resources to Liverpool (and 115 more charges for breaching Financial Fair Play rules), Klopp’s side have been the one team to pose a sustained challenge to Guardiola’s during their era of Premier League dominance.
Even when the Manchester outfit won a historic treble last year, the homecoming they received was still dwarfed by the 750,000 or so Scousers who took to the streets to welcome back the heroes of the 2019 Champions League triumph.
Although some might question the timing of Trent’s comments so close to the two teams facing off in a potentially season-defining fixture, you can understand why he’s said what he said, and he’s not wrong. If his intention was to trigger some of his opponents, then clearly it’s worked.
The Liverpool vice-captain won’t be on the pitch to influence proceedings at Anfield on Sunday as he continues his recovery from a knee injury, but he’ll have every faith in his teammates to reach the levels required to land a direct hit on City and open a four-point gap over Guardiola’s side.