The match between Manchester City and Liverpool on Sunday in the English Premier League deserves to be called one of the “classic” football matches, given the great competition between the two clubs locally and continentally.
The numbers indicate that since the 2018-2019 season, Liverpool have scored 337 points in the Premier League, compared to 338 for Manchester City.
Both teams set several records in their name:
Manchester City achieved the title of the highest scoring team in one season (100 points in the 2017-2018 season).
Man City (2017-2018 and 2018-2019 season) and Liverpool (2019-2020) are the teams with the most victories in a single season with 32 wins.
Liverpool secured the Premier League title 7 games ago in the 2019-2020 season.
Manchester City (2017-2018 season) and Liverpool (2019-2020) have the longest winning streak in Premier League history (18 matches).
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The Citizens coach, Josep Guardiola, admitted that the intense rivalry between him and Jurgen Klopp, the Liverpool coach, is the most intense during his coaching career.
He believes that the level of competition that Manchester City has faced from Liverpool in recent years has been higher than any competition he had to deal with, even when he was competing with Real Madrid for the Spanish League or Champions League title.
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"In the past five years, they have been our biggest competitor," Guardiola said before today's match.
"They were amazing, a great opponent, playing good matches. I respect Liverpool and the way they play, but I enjoy the challenge. Jurgen (Klopp) as a coach, the biggest opponent I've faced in my career, I think what both teams are doing is great for football."
"Except for the year in which we scored 100 points, the rest of the years were very close. This is because they are good and I hope they think we are good too."
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"I will remember my time here when I retire and watch and play golf, I will remember that my big rival was Liverpool. Certainly."
Manchester City leads the Premier League table, a point ahead of Liverpool.
The match, which will be held at the Etihad Stadium, is widely expected to determine the title.
City - although he played more games than Liverpool - led the standings by 14 points, but Liverpool, thanks to 10 consecutive victories, was able to reduce the difference to one point, and Guardiola knows very well the strength of his opponent.
"It's going to be a massive match, 3 important points, but there are 7 games left, 21 points, and a lot of things that exist to win like the Champions League and the FA Cup. But of course it's an important match," Guardiola said.
In turn, Liverpool coach Klopp expressed his belief that there is nothing in the world of football that can prepare you to face Manchester City.
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Klopp does not enjoy much the standards set by Manchester City, led by Guardiola, but stressed that these standards made his players better, which contributed to their winning of the first title for Liverpool in 30 years in the 2019-2020 season, ahead of Manchester City by 20 points.
"I wouldn't say I'm grateful that Manchester City are good, but I can't deny our development," Klopp said. "The past four years, we've progressed a little bit and being able to close the gap with Manchester City is exciting."
"We pushed each other to get unbelievable points. I didn't think such things were possible, especially not in this league. The continuity that both teams showed in that period was very crazy."
"There is no match in the world of football that can compare against Manchester City because they are very good in all areas. They have no real weaknesses," he stressed.
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"You have to show the respect they deserve, especially against City because they are very good when they have the ball."
"We know it's a tough match, what has changed in the last 4 years is that everyone else thinks that our game is also tough, and that's a very good thing," he added.
He concluded, "I cannot determine what the public thinks. But if you look at the possible results: if we win, we will have a two-point advantage, and if we lose, we will be behind by 4 points, and if we draw, we will remain one point behind."
"It is an important match, one of the biggest challenges you can face and if we are 14 or 15 points behind, it will still be a great match," he stressed.