Pep Guardiola taunts Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp with ‘belief’ comment

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Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has slyly taunted Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp by claiming he has more belief in the Reds than the German does. Liverpool have won just four of their 11 Premier League matches this season and suffered the ignominy of losing at Nottingham Forest on Saturday afternoon.

Liverpool got the better of the Citizens at Anfield last weekend courtesy of a late goal from blockbuster forward Mohamed Salah as Guardiola’s side lost for the first time this season. But Klopp had already dismissed any aspirations of competing for the Premier League trophy after his side had lost to Arsenal a week earlier. “We are not in the title race,” he said. “It’s naive to sit here and think that we are nearly there.”

Earlier this month, Guardiola insisted Liverpool were still City’s biggest title challengers, despite the fact the Reds were 13 points behind their rivals at the time. And he is still not ruling out a title assault from the Merseyside giants.

“It looks like with my statement I believe more in the Liverpool team than their manager,” the Spaniard said. “It’s just 10 fixtures gone, the World Cup in the middle and a lot of games to play, Europe involved and cup competitions involved, injuries involved. I said before when we have six or seven games left, yes. When it is just 10 games, one thousand million things can happen.”

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Ahead of last weekend’s clash at Anfield, Guardiola insisted the Liverpool side still possess plenty of quality and that things in football can change rapidly. “I know the quality they have, they know the quality we have,” the 51-year-old told reporters.

“Everything can change. A few months ago Liverpool were competing for a prestigious situation in English football, four titles, they had more shots, possession, everything in the final and they lost. This is the same team, same manager, things can happen. It’s part of the nature of the competition. I don’t look at good moments or bad moments – I analyse as a team always expecting the best of them.”

Klopp chagrined City chiefs ahead of the Anfield showdown by claiming they were one of “three clubs in world football who can do what they want financially.” And Guardiola has also taken aim at his rival for those comments.

“Firstly, it’s not a surprise because it is not the first he has said it in the last five or six years,” Guardiola hissed.

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