Guardiola lauds Klopp

Pep Guardiola has paid tribute to Jurgen Klopp, claiming he is the best attacking coach in the world.

The Manchester City boss takes his side to Anfield on Saturday evening to take on Klopp's title-chasing Liverpool and after facing each other while managers of Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund respectively, Guardiola knows what a tough opponent the German's teams can be.

"Our styles are not similar but I like a lot the way they play," Guardiola said. "Maybe Klopp is the best manager in the world at creating teams who attack the back four with so many players, from almost anywhere on the pitch.

"They have an intensity with the ball and without the ball, and it is not easy to do that. They attack wide sometimes with [Nathaniel] Clyne and [James] Milner but they especially like to attack from inside, through the middle.

"I don't think there is another team in the world attacking in this way with so many players capable of launching moves in an instant.

"I was new and it was 'wow' [Guardiola's first game against Klopp in Germany] , what a good lesson. We lost 4-2. Afterwards in the league I learned a bit more about how to control those situations but it was never easy.

"When Klopp speaks about his football being heavy metal, I understand completely. It is so aggressive. For the fans it is really good.

"Our styles are not similar but I like a lot the way they play, for the spectators, because in three or four seconds they are attacking."

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