Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp bemoans ‘luxury problem’ rival Pep Guardiola has at Man City

Klopp previews Liverpool's Premier League clash against Man City

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Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has dismissed Manchester City’s complaints over their lack of a natural centre forward, claiming it is a “luxury problem” for Pep Guardiola to have. The German was responding to comments made by the Catalan following his side’s 1-0 win over Chelsea last week.

Despite beating Chelsea, the Man City head coach admitted his side lacked a “weapon” in attack after watching their title rivals sign Romelu Lukaku from Inter Milan for £97.5m this summer.

Man City had chased Tottenham striker Harry Kane for the duration of the summer transfer window after he told the club of his desire to leave.

Guardiola had allowed Sergio Aguero to depart on a free transfer to Barcelona after a decade at the club and needed a replacement.

But Spurs stood firm in their £150million asking price for the 28-year-old and the England international eventually decided to stay put.

Guardiola has predominantly used Ferran Torres, who is usually deployed as a winger, through the middle, with Gabriel Jesus playing as a wide forward.

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But as Liverpool prepare to host Man City at Anfield on Sunday, Klopp dissected the claims made by his managerial counterpart.

And he believes that with the talents of Kevin De Bruyne, Ilkay Gundogan, Riyad Mahrez, Raheem Sterling and Jack Grealish amongst his attacking options, having a centre forward on top is not an urgent issue.

“In football it would be dead easy if there was just a number nine and you mark him and then they cannot score,” Klopp told reporters. “That would be really great.

“I know City haven’t scored 500 goals and the whole world is talking about them needing a number nine… yeah, imagine they had a number nine on top of all that.

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“It’s a luxury problem, let me say it like this.

“The decisive area in and around the box is where City traditionally, at least since I’ve been in England, have enough options, which numbers they have on their back is really not important.

“They bring in players in all the moments, the wingers are influential like ours are.

“I don’t know how many goals City have scored close range with a square ball in the six-yard box.

“Last year it was like this then (Ilkay) Gundogan arrived in the box 500 times and scored from close range.”

Klopp’s words may be a matter of simple mind games ahead of their latest encounter but the fact that Aguero was absent for large periods of the 2020-21 campaign suggests there is some truth to it.

Gundogan finished as their top goalscorer with 13 league goals, Sterling 10 and Jesus, Mahrez and Phil Foden all each scoring nine times.

But while he cast doubt on Guardiola’s need for a central striker, Klopp was keen to point out his admiration for how City break down teams by overloading in the final third.

“The whole world is defending against City, so there’s one area a defender, or more than one, should be and that’s in the six-yard box,” the German continued.

“But then they just play the ball and at the second post there is someone completely free.

“That’s not because all the other teams are dumb, it’s because City do that really well.

“They pass the ball at the right moment, their positioning is close to perfect, so that’s why it works out that often.”

The two sides meet at Anfield on Sunday in a crunch encounter early in the Premier League season, with either of the title contenders able to climb to the top of the table with a win.

Chelsea currently sit at the summit of the table before the game on Sunday afternoon, with Thomas Tuchel’s side taking 16 points from their first seven games.

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