Klopp is dreaming of revenge on Real Madrid – but must first get past Conte’s Tottenham

Can Man City capitalise?  

Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp has sympathy for Pep Guardiola and the manner in which his side were knocked out of the Champions League semi-finals in extra time to Real Madrid. However, the Anfield boss believes Carlo Ancelotti’s side ultimately deserves to reach the final in Paris. 

Klopp’s team remain in contention for all four competitions this season after knocking out Villarreal in the previous round and will face Los Blancos on May 28 in a repeat of the showdown between both clubs in the exact same fixture just four years ago. Which saw Madrid triumph in a 3-1 win. So Klopp is well aware of the bitter feelings of defeat in the competition. 

“City are good. It was a massive blow for them, that was really harsh,” said Klopp in a press conference on Friday. “I’ve had nights like that, it’s not cool, the next morning, not cool, but then there’s a moment you have to focus. They will be ready for Newcastle on Sunday.” He added: “It was strange and unlucky for City but what Madrid did was outstanding. They got through vs Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea and City. If you knock out those three you definitely deserve to be in the final. It will be great.” 

However, before Klopp can think about getting revenge on Madrid, his side must first ensure all three points against Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday afternoon. Anything less than a win would undoubtedly give Man City all the incentive they need to pull ahead in the title race and rule out a Premier League trophy for Liverpool this season. So how much of a threat do Antonio Conte’s side pose? 

Fits and bursts – Conte’s start to life at Tottenham 

Since taking over last November, Conte has been in charge of 32 games at Tottenham and in that time he’s overseen 18 wins, four draws and 10 defeats. And along the way he’s picked up a rather modest return of 1.81 points per game. And as we can see from Spurs’ record against last season’s top four in that period, there is still work to be done. 

In all competitions, Conte’s side have faced Man City, Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea no less than six times and results have certainly varied. In his first encounter with a top four team, which happened to be Klopp’s side, Conte’s team claimed a point in a 2-2 draw. However, they then lost three consecutive games to Chelsea with an aggregate score of 5-0. Which is far from good. 

However, despite that poor run, Spurs then managed to claim an important 3-2 win at the Etihad over Guardiola’s City side. Which certainly suggests that when they’re on form, Harry Kane & Co. can certainly put the very best teams in England to the sword. Yet a 3-2 defeat to Man Utd in March also hints at this team being far from perfect either. 

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