Klopp hails Sarri's Chelsea transformation

Chelsea was going blow for blow with Liverpool in the Premier League until last weekend and Jurgen Klopp is a big fan of Maurizio Sarri.

Published : Sep 25, 2018 19:16 IST

Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool hosts and Maurizio Sarri's Chelsea in an EFL Cup third round clash. (File Photo)
Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool hosts and Maurizio Sarri's Chelsea in an EFL Cup third round clash. (File Photo)
lightbox-info

Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool hosts and Maurizio Sarri's Chelsea in an EFL Cup third round clash. (File Photo)

Jurgen Klopp has declared himself a Maurizio Sarri fan ahead of Liverpool's double-header against Chelsea.

Liverpool hosts the Blues at Anfield in the third round of the EFL Cup on Wednesday before at top-of-the-table Premier League clash at Stamford Bridge on Saturday. Chelsea is only two points behind Klopp's side, having lost its own 100 per cent record with a 0-0 draw at West Ham last weekend – after which Sarri said his team would take a year to reach Liverpool's level.

READ |  Maybe in a year Chelsea will be at Liverpool's level – Sarri

Nevertheless, the former Napoli boss has overseen an impressive transformation in the team's playing style after succeeding Antonio Conte, much to Klopp's admiration.

"The biggest change I ever saw in such a short space of time, wow," he told a news conference. "The style is completely different. What a manager he is, to be honest. I'm pretty much a supporter of his since I saw [his teams] at Napoli. Outstanding football, and now doing it in a very interrupted pre-season [due to the World Cup].

"Eden [Hazard] was not there, [Olivier] Giroud, [N'Golo] Kante. Starting the season and you see immediately the impact? All my respect. It’s really good to watch. Good job so far."

As such, Klopp has no doubt that Chelsea can mount a sustained challenge for Manchester City's title.

"People were always talking about City being clear and completely forgot Chelsea," he said. "This team is really experienced. It won the title before, 80 per cent [of the players] won it twice, and they know how it works. That’s a really strong football team."

Liverpool has done much to underline its pre-season tip as the main rivals to Pep Guardiola's champions, but Klopp is keen to distance his improved squad from talk of a challenge on four fronts, following the impressive opening win over Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League.

ALSO READ | Mignolet to return for Liverpool against Chelsea

"I'm not sure if that's possible, to be honest. There was never a team that won all four, right? For different reasons," he added.

"I think the FA and Premier League hope that nobody goes through in all competitions, because they have no idea how to deal with it! Because then you have not enough days. I remember my first year here, if we would have won against West Ham [in the FA Cup] maybe we would have played Monday-Wednesday-Friday or something like that? Very funny!

"It's not about the other three competitions tomorrow night. It's one competition, not four. That's how we will take it, with all concentration, with all focus, with all intensity [for a] normal game."

Sign in to unlock all user benefits
  • Get notified on top games and events
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign up / manage to our newsletters with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early bird access to discounts & offers to our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide to our community guidelines for posting your comment