Jurgen Klopp has admitted that Liverpool's days of dominance English football alongside Manchester City may be over amid his side's difficult start to the Premier League season.
Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp took over their respective clubs within the space of 12 months between 2015 and 2016, ushering in a period of dominance with no other team winning the Premier League since 2017. However, that could change this season with Arsenal currently topping the Premier League by five points at the midway stage.
Klopp's Liverpool, by comparison, are ninth, 21 points behind pacesetters Arsenal and face an uphill battle even to qualify for the Champions League next season. City, meanwhile, have slipped below their own standards domestically despite the addition of Erling Haaland and sit second having suffered three defeats already this season in the league.
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One of those defeats was inflicted by Liverpool, showing that the rivalry is still alive even if standards have slipped somewhat. However, Klopp has admitted that the 'exceptional' relationship the two clubs shared between 2018 and 2022 may have given way to a new era with Man United, Newcastle and Arsenal at the forefront.
Speaking ahead of Liverpool's FA Cup visit to Brighton, a ground where the Reds lost 3-0 in the league earlier this month, Klopp said: “What happened in the league with City and us in the last few years was absolutely exceptional.
“It is a bit embarrassing to say but the level of consistency we showed in that period is crazy. Absolutely crazy. But we don’t use that even one percent as an excuse to say ‘five years we have been in charge of football, now we have to watch it like this’.
“Consistency is really the most difficult thing to have in football and we will see how that goes for other teams when they have little drops or injuries. But it’s pretty likely it’ll get tougher for everybody up there to stay up there, to qualify for Europe, the Champions League and especially become champions.
“It will be absolutely difficult because of the quality of the teams, the money around and the quality of the coaches which has improved a lot as well.
“Arsenal are a sensational team. Mikel had time pretty much with just a little bit of European football in the last few years and he is doing an outstanding job.
“They will not go away easily and say ‘we had a year, thank you very much. United is in a really good moment, whatever happens there they will not stop investing and improving.
“If City, theoretically, do not win the league, I do not think Pep will accept this kind of situation for a couple of years. They will go again.
“Tottenham, Newcastle, Brighton are doing really well. We have to see how long Brighton can keep that team together. We know these kinds of things could happen so it makes it really interesting.”
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