Jurgen Klopp says there is no reason for Liverpool and Manchester City to be “best friends” after tensions ignited at the weekend.
Liverpool manager Klopp insisted he did not mean to inflame the rivalry between the clubs by referencing the wealth of Premier League champions City ahead of their game on Sunday, in which his team snatched a 1-0 win.
“There are three clubs in world football who can do what they want financially,” Klopp said, two days ahead of the City clash.
That has been widely taken as a reference to City, Newcastle United and Paris Saint-Germain, each with wealthy Middle East owners.
City were reported to have considered the comments from Klopp to be almost xenophobic, and the Anfield tussle between the teams became an explosive affair, with Klopp sent off after snapping at assistant referee Gary Beswick.
There was trouble in the stands, too, with Pep Guardiola pelted with coins, while a number of City fans sang offensive songs about the Hillsborough and Heysel stadium disasters.
“I’m not sure we have to be best friends with other clubs, to be honest,” Klopp said in a press conference on Tuesday.
“I don’t think anybody wants to be best friends with us. I never heard about that at least. It’s a completely normal competition.
“But apart from that, it started here with a question and I answered it, and all the rest was made of it.
“I know what I thought when I said it. I thought I had put it all in perspective and said how much I respect all that they are doing, and obviously it was still not right for some.
“But the most important thing, as a club and as a team together with our supporters, we showed an incredible performance on Sunday.”
Klopp added: “It’s not the first time I’ve been misunderstood.”
He said supporters would be held to account if they stepped out of line. As well as incidents in the stadium, City complained their team bus was attacked as it left Anfield.
“If something happens, if one guy throws a coin, it’s one fan and it’s a massive mistake, definitely, and will get punished,” Klopp said. “And after the game, if something happens, it’s one supporter or maybe two supporters and not all of them.”
Liverpool host David Moyes’ West Ham on Wednesday, looking to back up what Klopp called a “massive” win over City, which came after a rocky start to the season for the Reds.
They remain 14 points behind leaders Arsenal, albeit with a game in hand, so Klopp says the Hammers clash is another huge fixture.
“We’re at the moment in the season when you realise from now on they’re all finals,” Klopp said. “I’m not sure you can give games more importance than we already put in. It’s very important absolutely.
“We respect them a lot. They’ve caused us a lot of problems here and there as well. David is doing an incredible job.”
Source: Livescore