Liverpool and Manchester City's best matches of the Klopp-Guardiola era | OneFootball

It's always eagerly anticipated whenever Manchester City and Liverpool are scheduled to play each other. Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp are two managers who have constructed and led some of the greatest teams the Premier League has ever seen and the impact they have made on the competition is immense. While there has always been an evident sense of grudging respect between the pair, they have enjoyed numerous battles against each other over the years, first locking horns back in 2013 as managers of Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund respectively.

Under their guidance, both Manchester City and Liverpool have been forces to be reckoned on both the domestic and continental stage. Each manager has delivered a Champions League title for their respective clubs. But Guardiola's stranglehold on the Premier League crown has been a source of great frustration in the red half of Merseyside, with Klopp so far only managing to lift the league trophy on one occasion during his eight-year tenure at Anfield.

How Man City and Liverpool became rivals

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With so much at stake, their clashes always tend to be feisty, entertaining affairs and here at GIVEMESPORT, we thought we'd count down ten of the best matches between the two teams in recent years.

10 Manchester City 5-0 Liverpool - 2017/18 season

Both managers had relatively slow starts to their reigns in England but the 2017/18 campaign was when the signs that a top rivalry to be the best was beginning to form. The scale of City's progress was monumental as in one window, Guardiola transformed a team that had just stumbled their way to a lowly third place in the table to a team capable of winning the title with a record-breaking points margin.

Meanwhile, with Virgil van Dijk yet to arrive on Merseyside, Liverpool's defence still needed work and they were made painfully aware of that fact when they made the trip to be tormented at the Etihad Stadium. Sadio Mane's red card in the 37th minute for a raised foot on Ederson made things even tougher for the Reds and they were soundly beaten 5-0 by the Citizens.

9 Liverpool 3-0 Manchester City - 2017/18 season

Liverpool didn't have to wait long to get their own back. While City were easing their way to a third Premier League title, the Reds brought about an abrupt end to their Champions League progress at the quarter-final stage.

Anfield was a cauldron of noise as three first-half goals from Mohamed Salah, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Sadio Mane saw them demolish the Sky Blues 3-0 in the first leg. Klopp's side also won the second leg 2-1 at the Etihad, setting them on their way to a first Champions League final in 11 years.

8 Liverpool 0-0 Manchester City - 2018/19 season

Only when it's Liverpool and Manchester City could a 0-0 make it into the top ten matches between the two, but a particular moment in this encounter looked like it could have dramatic consequences. Anticipation was high going into this clash in early October with the two teams clear favourites for the league title.

In an end-to-end match where both teams had great chances to score, a Riyad Mahrez penalty in the 85th minute looked like it was going to settle the match but the Algerian blazed his spot-kick well over the bar. Time would tell just how costly that mistake would prove to be for his team.

7 Liverpool 3-1 Manchester City - 2022/23 season

The build-up to the 2022 Community Shield was dominated by each team's brand new shiny strikers facing off against each other for the first time. Erling Haaland was the statement signing of the summer, after City brought in the Norwegian from Borussia Dortmund while Liverpool splashed out an even greater amount for Benfica's Darwin Nunez.

The disparity between the fees was a huge point of contention, with it being almost unanimously decided that Guardiola's side had purchased the superior player for a smaller fee. Nunez caused some people to reconsider that stance with his Community Shield performance, sealing the win for Liverpool while Haaland went without a goal, but it proved to be something of a false dawn for both the Uruguayan and his team that season.

6 Manchester City 2-2 Liverpool - 2021/22 season

The season before, the two sides had tussled for the league title until the final day of the season. The fixture between the two at the Etihad Stadium on April 10 looked set to be a pivotal one in determining who would be champions.

In a match were City had more of the chances, Liverpool dug in deep and twice came from behind to secure a 2-2 draw, meaning the title race remained hanging in the balance. Much was made of Pep Guardiola's perhaps overly enthusiastic handshake and embrace with Jurgen Klopp on the final whistle.

5 Manchester City 2-3 Liverpool - 2021/22 season

If Liverpool were considered to have played second-best in the league match, then there was no question who was the superior side when the two teams met again in the FA Cup just six days later. The Reds were by far the quickest and by half-time, they were 3-0 ahead thanks to a header from Ibrahima Konate and a brace from Sadio Mane.

City grew into the game and Jack Grealish and Bernardo Silva each got their names on the scoresheet but it wasn't enough and Liverpool emerged the victors. The win confirmed a place in the FA Cup final for Jurgen Klopp's side who were on course for an historic quadruple.

4 Liverpool 3-1 Manchester City - 2019/20 season

The 2019/20 campaign was finally Liverpool's year to beat City to the post and secure their first Premier League title. The Reds had only dropped two points in their first 11 league games when the Citizens made the trip to Anfield in early November, and they continued that spectacular form with a vital victory over their great rivals.

Six minutes in, Fabinho fired Jurgen Klopp's side ahead, after Trent Alexander-Arnold appeared to have handled in the area at the other end of the pitch, and Mohamed Salah soon doubled Liverpool's lead before Sadio Mane sealed the win early in the second half. Bernardo Silva's strike on 78 minutes was a mere consolation for Pep Guardiola's team, and the Spaniard was left to entertain Liverpool fans and neutrals with his flamboyant complaints to the officials on the touchline.

3 Liverpool 4-3 Manchester City - 2017/18 season

Arguably Liverpool's first real statement of intent under Jurgen Klopp came in January 2018 when they produced a masterful performance to beat Man City less than a week after selling star player Philippe Coutinho. The win came just four months after Guardiola's side had humiliated the Reds 5-0.

After Leroy Sane's strike on 40 minutes cancelled out Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's opener, Liverpool took charge in the second half with three goals in nine minutes shoving them 4-1 ahead. Late goals from Bernardo Silva and Ilkay Gundogan weren't enough for City, who succumbed to their first league defeat of the season.

2 Liverpool 2-2 Manchester City - 2021/22 season

Liverpool's pulsating 2-2 draw with Manchester City in early October served as a pacesetter for the rest of the season. At half-time with the game goalless, no-one could have predicted just how much of a Premier League classic would ensue in the second period.

Sadio Mane slotted the Reds ahead just before the hour mark but Phil Foden restored parity ten minutes later. Mohamed Salah then stole all the headlines with an individual moment of brilliance, jinking his way past four defenders and scoring what looked to be the winner before Kevin de Bruyne equalised in the 81st minute.

1 Manchester City 2-1 Liverpool - 2018/19 season

Almost indisputably the most important match on the list came on 3rd January 2019. Liverpool were unbeaten after 20 matches and seven points clear at the top of the table when they travelled to face Manchester City and knew a win over Pep Guardiola's side would surely put them too far into the distance.

In a tense match, goals from Sergio Aguero and Leroy Sane either side of Roberto Firmino's strike were enough for the Sky Blues to grab a crucial win and close the gap on the Reds. But the game is best remembered for John Stones managing to clear a ball mere millimetres from crossing the line and preventing what would have been a crucial goal for Liverpool, who ended up losing the league title by just one point come the end of the season.