Pep Guardiola just did what Jürgen Klopp couldn’t as Liverpool must use Man City transfer lesson

There’s no shortage of ways to illustrate Liverpool’s bizarre season. But tonight offered another one: Manchester City, twice beaten by Jürgen Klopp this campaign, just dismantled a Real Madrid side that dumped the Reds out of Europe back in March.

But it’s not just this season where Real Madrid has seemingly had Klopp’s number. Nobody will need any reminding that Liverpool has been on the wrong end of two Champions League finals against Los Blancos, with the 14-time champion an as-yet unsolved problem for the boss.

But Pep Guardiola certainly worked it out here. With the tie in the balance going into the second leg, Manchester City dominated from the first whistle at the Etihad, ultimately running out 4-0 winners. At times, it seemed Real Madrid could not even get a kick.

READ MORE: Liverpool should replace Joël Matip with transfer for wonderkid who passed Kylian Mbappé test

READ MORE: Liverpool almost signed $130m Man United target three years ago as West Ham eyes USMNT star

This must have seemed totally alien to Liverpool, although there were certainly elements that would have felt all too familiar. Two scarcely believable saves from Thibaut Courtois at 0-0 made it seem like Manchester City would be end on the kind of performance that thwarted the Reds in last season’s Champions League final, while a wicked David Alaba free kick at 2-0 down was a reminder that Real Madrid is the master of conjuring something out of absolutely nothing.

But Guardiola found the formula that has repeatedly eluded Klopp. While Liverpool has undoubtedly been the better side in some of the previous clashes, it has never been able to truly dictate proceedings.

To understand why, a bit of a history lesson is in order. It is important to note where each of these teams evolved from.

This Manchester City side was purpose-built to dominate. Backed by seemingly limitless funds — the ins and outs of which are set to be examined by an independent panel — elite personnel have been parachuted in from the beginning. Guardiola came into a side already blessed with plenty of quality, and set about making the adjustments necessary in the transfer market and beyond to implement the ‘death by football’ for which he was already renowned.

When Klopp joined Liverpool, he inherited a side hovering barely above mid-table territory. His first task was to find a way to get it to punch above its weight — and even once the transfer market was used to bring in better players, much the same blueprint ultimately led the Reds to become champions of everything.

Tweaks have been made along the way, of course, but Klopp’s most fundamental philosophies are geared towards the underdog, to squeezing the very most out of just about any set of players who are willing to work incredibly hard out of possession.

But as a team ascends to the very top, its time out of possession decreases. Expecting a team of pressing monsters to suddenly put on a clinic with the ball is a big leap.

To his credit, Guardiola has adapted more successfully than Klopp. He has implemented a number of the pressing tricks pioneered by his great rival, creating a monster of a team that can hustle back possession of the ball and then torture the opponent with it.

The transfer that took Thiago to Liverpool from Bayern Munich was meant to help Klopp take a step toward in-possession dominance, but it never quite happened. His side certainly sees far more of the ball than it used to, but its biggest threat remains its high press and its lightning breaks.

Of course, we are talking about the very top echelons of the game here. Clearly, Klopp has been able to build a team capable of competing for — and winning — the game’s biggest prizes over successive seasons. But the challenge of Real Madrid, the ultimate European powerhouse, is a useful stress test, and Liverpool has often come up just short.

Ahead of the summer, that’s informative. There’s a school of thought that Liverpool just needs to get back to basics after such a disappointing season. But as Klopp builds the new generation, he has a chance to implement some real controllers from the very beginning. Manchester City just proved that it can be the difference at the very highest of levels.