6 months ago
113 Jurgen Klopp has claimed that Arsenal have now suffered a similar experience to his Liverpool side in the Premier League title race.
Mikel Arteta is relying on results going his way to secure Arsenal’s first league title in 20 years today.
The Gunners need a victory over Everton at the Emirates Stadium while also relying to Manchester City to drop points against West Ham United.
Given the fact that City have picked up eight consecutive wins in the league since that goalless draw against Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium back in March, a slip-up today feels unlikely.
Tottenham came close to doing their north London rivals a favour on Tuesday but were ultimately beaten 2-0 by City at home.
Heung-min Son had an opportunity to level the game before Erling Haaland doubled his side’s lead. But much to the frustration of Arsenal supporters, the Spurs skipper was denied by an excellent save from Stefan Ortega.
Now, Jurgen Klopp has compared that moment to what happened to his Liverpool side back in the 2018-19 campaign.
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Klopp delivers verdict on Arsenal title race
Speaking on Liverpool’s official podcast, Klopp sat down with Kelly Cates in a farewell interview ahead of his final game at Anfield today.
When asked about the need to hit ‘record’ points totals to beat City to the title, Klopp made an interesting comparison between Liverpool and Arsenal.
The German boss reflected on the 2018-19 season when Pep Guardiola’s side picked up a 1-0 win over Leicester City thanks to a stunning effort from Vincent Kompany.
But Klopp remembers a moment after the Belgian’s goal as Kelechi Iheanacho missed an opportunity to level the game up, much like Son against City this week.
“Absolutely. This year you don’t need that many, you need a few but not that many,” the Liverpool boss said. “But we will see what happens at the weekend. As a club, if it’s not your own situation, you’re not really bothered about it.
“So, you look at the situation, Son, the 1v1 situation with Ortega. That was 100 per cent a situation like Iheanacho against City, I’m not sure who was the goalie at that time.
“When Kompany scores the goal and shortly after that Iheanacho has a 1v1 situation with the goalie and doesn’t score, it was the breakdown in Liverpool. Now, it’s the breakdown in Arsenal.
“In the end, it’s City who wins it so can you explain that? One action from a goalie and it decides moments, you need these things. We had it in our year when we became champions very often. In the other years, not often enough because the competitor was pretty good as well, I have to say that, and that’s just a fact.
“I’m fine with what we did and I respect all the opinions – it’s enough, it’s fantastic or it’s not enough. It’s all fine. It’s your own opinion, I can live with that as well. But first and foremost, I have to be at peace with it and I am.”
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Klopp’s record against Man City in title races
Should City secure their fourth consecutive title today, one man will relate to Arsenal’s pain more than anyone and that’s Klopp.
The German picked up one Premier League title during the 2019-20 campaign but has missed out by the narrowest of margins on two occasions to City.
The Reds fell short by a single point back in 2018-19 after finishing the season on 97 points – a record for a runner-up in the competition’s history.
Most recently, Klopp’s Liverpool finished the 2021-22 season on 92 points, once again just a point behind City and this remains the second-highest points total for a side that finished second.
