Carragher: Manchester City's Reds are strongest in the Premier League and the strongest in the world, and the greatest showdown between them

Live bar On April 9, the 32nd round of the Premier League on Sunday night Beijing time will stage the battle of Tianwangshan, when Liverpool need to travel away to challenge the defending champions Manchester City. Liverpool and Manchester City have arguably been the two most consistent teams in European football over the past few seasons, with Klopp and Guardiola also being the two most sought after managers in football. For the showdown between Liverpool and Manchester City, Reds legend Carragher gave his opinion in the Daily Telegraph column.

Here is the full text of the column:

The standoff between Liverpool and Manchester City has become the greatest, fiercest and most powerful confrontation in the history of English football, and one of the unique things is that for the first time, the two best teams in England have become the two best teams in the world, and it is the two best of a generation of coaches who have coached them.

Say something like that and I can hear the dissenting opinions of Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal fans. There are many examples that merit a head-on comparison, with many claiming that the quality of the game between Sir Alex Ferguson and Wenger at the peak was similar and full of emotional impact.

The showdown between Sir Alex Ferguson and Wenger was once a talking point

In my opinion, although there are similarities, they do not apply to european competitions. As United's closest rival, Arsenal fell short in both the Premier League and the FA Cup when the Red Devils won the Treble in 1999. But the rivalry between United and Arsenal has never extended into the Champions League, except for the 2009 semi-finals, when the Gunners were no longer brave.

Even if the strength of the Premier League team is at its peak, then if one of the two teams of Manchester United and Arsenal fails to win the Premier League, then the other will win. But can we call them the two best teams in Europe at that time? Ahead of Real Madrid, Juve and Milan? No, Manchester United and Arsenal are usually in fierce competition in their domestic competition.

Similarly, although Manchester United and Chelsea reached the 2008 Champions League final, it was Chelsea's Grant who deserved respect, not Mourinho. Indeed, Manchester United and Chelsea were two great teams at that time. That season, Chelsea missed the Premier League title by two points and also tasted the bitterness of defeat in the Champions League final. However, when the confrontation between Sir Alex Ferguson and Jose Mourinho ended, they lost some of their color in the coaching staff.

We have to go back further and you'll find that the rivalry between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest in the late 1970s was closest to the relationship between Liverpool and Manchester City today, when Liverpool and Nottingham Forest were arguably the best teams in England and the best in Europe. In the five years of 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980 and 1981, one of the two teams won either the English top flight or the Champions League, or one team won both. Bob Paisley and Brian Clough were probably the best coaches back then, but the gap between the chasers and the top coaches wasn't as great as it is today.

Older generations might say that Manchester United, Liverpool and Leeds United in the 1960s were better than most teams on the continent, but their dominance in European competitions is a matter of later. United fans will point out that it doesn't make much sense for City to make it into the final stages of the event until they win the Champions League.

Both Manchester City and Liverpool have been in very stable form this season

However, Liverpool and Manchester City in 2022 are in the lead in every way. They are among the best teams in the history of English football, coached by two legendary coaches who are ahead of every coach in the country. Guardiola and Klopp can even be said to be better than the great managers of the past, as they raise the bar to win the league title. At the start of the season, Chelsea looked like they could turn the Premier League into a three-legged stand, but with the relentless pressure to have to work hard to win every game to join the title race, they couldn't bear it.

As managers of Manchester City and Liverpool, Guardiola and Klopp have changed the way they play with their unique ideas, and the influence of the former has touched the world, as more and more teams try to follow the style of play based on possession. As for Klopp, there is at least one of his followers in every major league in Europe who is trying to replicate his high-post pressing style of play. Every emerging head coach will either choose the way Guardiola plays or Klopp will choose the way Klopp plays. Whether it is Cruyff or Sacchi, their influence is mainly in the way the team plays, and they have a unique style.

Guardiola and Klopp have changed the club's history and are now ready to do it again. People have said a lot and written a lot about Liverpool being chasing the quadruple crown. So what about the possibility that City will replicate United's 1999 treble? People seem to overlook that Manchester City are the favourites to win the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup, why? Because it's always bigger news that Liverpool do something like this.

The excessive focus on Liverpool's pursuit of a quadruple rather than City's dream of achieving a treble includes another key element of the two-team rivalry. What makes the two clubs even more competitive is that each club knows that the other is a significant obstacle to achieving their ambitions, and there are clear differences in how the club operates and how people perceive the club.

Liverpool love the fact that everything has changed since Fenway Sports' appointment to Klopp, and no matter how many titles Guardiola has won and how much he has achieved, the neutrals will think that Mansour's arrival has changed the situation for Manchester City.

Liverpool has a global popularity that Manchester City does not have

Liverpool want something That Manchester City has, which is unlimited resources so that it doesn't complicate the situation when negotiating with stars like Salah, while Manchester City want Liverpool's global popularity and the Anfield aura they have on European nights.

Even now, every time he plays Against Manchester City, Klopp has a clever strategy of making his team look like a story of the weak against the strong. But he has the right to do so.

In 2015, no one within Manchester City, Chelsea or Manchester United believed that Liverpool would regain their strength and become what they are today. They know Klopp is great, but compared to the resources their opponents have, it's hard to believe that a newcomer German can make Liverpool competitive and become what Guardiola has said this season to make City feel "like a man's back".

Five years ago, I wrote in the first column of the Daily Telegraph: "I don't believe Klopp can bring the title trophy back to Anfield, how can Liverpool compete with the three richest clubs in the world?" "Apart from Liverpool, not many people would object to such a statement. Given the challenges Klopp faces, he has indeed achieved extraordinary things, especially in the case of City's form and ability to surpass all. The fact that City know how to win the title is to be expected, while Liverpool's victory is a matter of overcoming all odds, means that Liverpool's advantage will always exist. Ironically, City will resent Liverpool for receiving so much media attention for chasing the treble, but Klopp would rather Guardiola be asked about the treble than himself.

Manchester City have more resources at their disposal than Liverpool

Whenever Manchester City and Liverpool play, I see the game as a showdown between the best team in the world with the ball and the best team in the world without the ball, which is a bit simplistic. Liverpool have done a good job of retaining the ball and Manchester City are also experts in reclaiming the ball, but the difference in style is that the match between the two teams has become one of the most tactically exciting games.

In the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final in midweek, victories for Manchester City and Liverpool confirmed why they are opponents that all teams want to avoid. For months, it seemed inevitable that City and Liverpool would face each other directly to determine the title title. At the Etihad Stadium this week and at Wembley Stadium next weekend, whether the two teams are evenly matched will be on display. Moreover, we cannot rule out the two teams playing each other again in Paris in May (note: Champions League final).

(Two monsters)