Two of the best managers of their generation, Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola, appear to compete competitively wherever they end up.
Since 2013, the two have faced each other every year, except one as managers of Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Manchester City and Liverpool.
In 20 games in all competitions, Klopp has the slight advantage of nine wins against eight for Guardiola, with three draws between them. They face each other this Sunday in the Premier League, but let’s go back to each of their previous meetings.
The first meeting between these two managers set the standard for everything to follow, as both teams attacked from the start in the German Super Cup.
Marco Reus scored twice as Ilkay Gundogan and an own goal from Daniel Van Buyten canceled Arjen Robben’s brace and handed defeat to Guardiola in his first competitive game as Bayern boss.
After losing the Champions League final the previous season to Bayern, Dortmund also lost their superstar playmaker to the Bavarians this summer.
Mario Gotze returned to Signal Iduna Park the following season under Guardiola and scored the first goal after coming in as a substitute in a 3-0 victory.
The reverse league game later this season saw Klopp’s side take revenge, with a 3-0 win on their own thanks to goals from Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Marco Reus and Jonas Hofmann.
The season started with a trophy at stake and ended with the German Cup final. This time, however, Guardiola has taken the upper hand.
It took 107 minutes of action to break the deadlock before Robben stepped on a Jerome Boateng cross, and Thomas Muller finished the victory in the 123rd minute for Guardiola’s second trophy in Germany.
The Super Cup saw Dortmund lift the trophy for the second year in a row against a weakened Bayern side, thanks to goals from Mkhitaryan and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in both halves.
After his contract with Dortmund ended, Robert Lewandowski signed for Bayern Munich. In his first game against his former club after the move, he started in front as Guardiola’s side came from behind to win 2-1, with Robben scoring a penalty to wrap up the points.
On his first return to Signal Iduna Park, Lewandowski turned out to be the match winner.
A first-half header was enough to give his new side all three points as Bayern headed for another title, while Dortmund hesitated in seventh place.
A few weeks later, the teams met in the semi-finals of the DFB Pokal but this time it was Klopp’s team that won.
Lewandowski scored again, before Aubameyang equalized and the teams found themselves in a stalemate which led to a shootout. It was horrible, because Bayern missed all of their kicks and Dortmund lost the final to Wolfsburg.
Congratulations to everyone involved.
The two separated for 20 months before meeting again in the Premier League as managers of Liverpool and Manchester City respectively.
It was Klopp who emerged victorious from this meeting, thanks to a header from Gini Wijnaldum.
The two met again at the Etihad Stadium a few months later and fought for a 1-1 draw, thanks to goals from Sergio Aguero and former City man James Milner.
A much-anticipated game between two teams supposed to fight for the top honors was marred early on after Sadio Mane was sent off for a high boot on goalkeeper Ederson.
Guardiola’s side controlled the game from that point on and took a dominant 5-0 victory, thanks to a goal from Sergio Aguero and a brace from Gabriel Jesus and Leroy Sane.
The Reds got their revenge later this season with a dominant win at Anfield.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain opened the scoring before Leroy Sane equalized just before half-time. Then, a goal from each of Liverpool’s famous first three forwards in a second eight-minute period sealed the three points, although late goals from Bernardo Silva and Ilkay Gundogan made it a nervous end.
A few months later, the two sides faced off in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League, and Klopp apparently found the cure to play against sides from Guardiola.
Goals from Mohamed Salah, Oxlade-Chamberlain and Sadio Mane in the first half hour were enough to seal a landslide victory in the first leg for Liverpool.
The second leg was all set for the fireworks and that’s exactly what we got.
Gabriel Jesus scored after just two minutes for Man City, before the Blues had a perfectly reasonable goal ruled out for a “foul” on the goalkeeper. Liverpool weathered the storm and goals from Salah and Firmino secured them a second leg victory at the Etihad as they reached the final, where they lost to Real Madrid.
In what would prove to be a record-breaking season for Man City and Liverpool, the two sides canceled each other at Anfield in the Premier League when they first met.
Riyad Mahrez missed an added time penalty as the points were divided.
In the game that ultimately won Manchester City the title at the end of the season, it was one of the most strained ties in recent history between the two managers.
John Stones cleared the goal line 0-0 which was literally a few millimeters from the score before Sergio Aguero opened the scoring. Firmino got an equalizer ahead of the winner Sane with 18 minutes to play in Guardiola a huge win.
A glorified friendly to open the season, but both teams wanted to win to have a mental advantage over their rivals.
The game ended in a tie after 90 minutes, with Joel Matip calling off Raheem Sterling’s opener before City won on penalties thanks to Wijnaldum’s Claudio Bravo save.
As Liverpool won the Premier League title, they showed no mercy on all the opposition, including Guardiola’s Man City side.
Fabinho scored a better score from outside the box before Salah and Mane steered Liverpool with a 3-0 lead. Bernardo Silva pulled one out but it was too late as the Reds were eight points clear at the top.
Liverpool’s dominance was so great this season that by the time they met Man City again they were already champions.
City looked to make a statement against the new champions and did so with a 4-0 beating thanks to goals from Kevin De Bruyne, Sterling and a brace from Phil Foden.
Earlier this season the two teams met and it was the story of two penalties that ultimately settled the game.
Salah opened the scoring on the spot after Kyle Walker fouled Mane, before Jesus equalized for the home side. De Bruyne’s cross slapped Joe Gomez’s hand to give City a penalty as well, but the Belgian put his kick wide and the points were split.
