"Not sure I ever told Pep but I like him," grinned Jurgen Klopp. It was in October, ahead of a 2-2 draw between Liverpool and Manchester City that ranked as a hugely entertaining classic. Klopp added the caveat that he occasionally irritates the Manchester City manager with some of his press-conference utterances. "He gets really angry - sorry about that," he said with a smile.

And yet his initial statement was revealing. Klopp versus Guardiola has become the greatest managerial rivalry of current times. It will be renewed twice in April, in the Premier League and the FA Cup. It may culminate in May's Champions League final. Liverpool could get a quadruple or City a treble. But if Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger's relationship was toxic and bitter - at least until Arsenal were no longer a threat to Manchester United - Klopp and Guardiola's rivalry is different.