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Rob DawsonCorresponding
Pep Guardiola responded to Jurgen Klopp’s statement that Manchester City had a “two-week break” because of an outbreak of COVID-19 at the club, saying the Liverpool coach “knows it’s not true”.
Before his meeting at Anfield, Klopp suggested that City’s smooth running was helped by “a two-week break for COVID reasons”.
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In fact, City had eight days between games when their confrontation with Everton was postponed in December, and Guardiola said he plans to respond to comments with Klopp when the direct confrontation on Sunday.
“Did he make a mistake, was it two months or three months away? No, [it was] four. Four months off, “Guardiola said at a news conference on Friday.
“That’s why we are in better shape now. Jurgen has to look at the schedule again.
“We had COVID, we have a week and we played with 14 players at Stamford Bridge, but maybe I’m wrong and it wasn’t two weeks, it was three or four weeks. Tomorrow when I see Jurgen I will say to him: ‘How many weeks or days have we been off?’
“I’ll tell him tomorrow. He knows it’s not true. Come on! Nobody in the Premier League has had two weeks off.”
Guardiola and Klopp have known each other since their time together in the Bundesliga, and the City coach admitted that he was “surprised” by the criticism of his counterpart.
“I’m not angry, I didn’t expect it, not from him,” said Guardiola.
“I’m surprised. I thought Jurgen was not that kind of manager, like the others who usually do. I didn’t expect that comment. But maybe it was a misunderstanding of him. If he sees the calendar again, he’ll see that it wasn’t two weeks , it was two months. “
City head to Liverpool in search of their first Anfield victory since 2003.
Guardiola’s team have won their last 13 games in all competitions and are three points clear of the Premier League leaderboard with one game less.
Meanwhile, Liverpool, injured, have won just three of their last 10 games, but Guardiola was quick to point out that Klopp’s team had a summer break totaling 48 days, while their players were forced to return after a break from 37 days after his Champions League commitments last season.
“Clear [he] we forget – said Guardiola. – We didn’t forget, but they did, of course.
“When it happened, it happened. When you have a lot of COVID cases at the beginning and injuries, when we had COVID before the game against Everton, we said, ‘It is what it is.’ We had 14 players and come on [to Chelsea]. “