Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool take on Jose Mourinho's Manchester United at Anfield
Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool take on Jose Mourinho's Manchester United at Anfield

Liverpool v Man Utd analysis: We look at Jurgen Klopp and Jose Mourinho's impact at Anfield and Old Trafford ahead of Sunday showdown


Jurgen Klopp and Jose Mourinho are at opposite ends of the popularity spectrum it seems heading into Sunday’s Anfield showdown, but how do they really compare in their respective current roles?

Klopp seems to do no wrong at Anfield despite not yet adding a trophy to the club’s cabinet in just over three years at the helm, while Mourinho has won trophies at home and in Europe yet the general consensus is that he’s on borrowed time at Old Trafford.

Despite the Reds being big 8/15 favourites on Sunday they’ve got a poor recent league record against United, having gone eight Premier League games without a win – four of those at Anfield.

Klopp will want to end that barren stretch, but how does his spell at Liverpool compare with Mourinho’s own time at United? Let’s take a look…

This season so far...

Klopp’s record start for Liverpool has been well documented and the fact they’re already 16 points ahead of Mourinho’s United after just 16 games tells its own story.

United have shown character to rescue a few sticky situations but on the whole they’ve been disappointing, with big defeats against Spurs, Man City and West Ham particularly disappointing.

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Achievements

Hands down Mourinho on this one, after lifting the League Cup and Europa League in his first season in charge – there’s been little to shout about since then though.

The biggest problem for Klopp is his worrying trend of losing finals – three already at Liverpool. They have been getting progressively bigger with the League Cup, Europa League and then Champions League, which is an achievement of sorts, but if management is judged by silverware then he’s in trouble so far.

Style & development

There’s only one winner in this category with Klopp unquestionably improving the Reds from when he took over, turning them into genuine title contenders and a force to be reckoned with around Europe on the back of their fearsome attacking line-up.

The goals got them so far, but credit Klopp for identifying that they could not play at 100mph every week and sustain it through a tough English season. They’ve been a more pragmatic outfit this season with a much more solid defensive core.

On the flip side, Jose’s side often look sluggish and bereft of ideas and almost like the constraints of trying to do things his way render them unable to play naturally. This shows when they fall behind as they’re well capable of throwing caution to the wind to get back into games, but playing that way from the off has proven to be beyond them more often than not.

Have United gone backwards? Well, that could be a tad harsh as there’s definite quality within the squad but it does seem that Mourinho struggles to squeeze that out of his players on a regular basis. Rashford, Lukaku and several others look more at home playing for their national sides.

Approval rating

Mourinho at times has been clinging to power more desperately than Theresa May, and while he’s also still in a job there are certainly angry back-benchers at Old Trafford who’d love to see him depart sooner rather than later.

He’s shown glimpses of the cheeky old Mourinho, but all too often he’s been weighed down by the barrage of criticism that comes his way – at times overboard but something you sign up for as manager of Manchester United.

There will be a lot of little Jurgens running around in school playgrounds around Liverpool in a few years, as despite winning exactly zero trophies Klopp is adored by Kopites who’ve been on a thrilling ride over the last season or so.

Waves of attacking football, gegenpressing and goals galore fuelled a wonderful march to the Champions League final. Real Madrid stopped them completing the dream but there’s no doubt they’re now a better team, a stronger squad, and with Klopp also acting as cheerleader in chief he’s also captured the hearts and minds of the Liverpool fans.

Signings

Although his zany touchline antics grab most of the headlines, perhaps Klopp's greatest strength has been in his transfer dealings - with most of his signings having been a success. He’s also not yet made a big-money blunder as flops such as Loris Karius and Ragnar Klavan didn't cost the Earth - although Karius did cost them a Champions League title.

Mo Salah now looks the bargain of all time, Andy Robertson was a masterstroke and even the surprising Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain move paid off. The German also knows who he wants and is prepared to wait to get his man (Virgil van Dijk) rather than settle for a second option.

Van Dijk and Alisson cost a fortune but they could be key to Liverpool's success this season.

Mourinho had his biggest bust-up with the board over not signing a centre back this summer, but you can understand their hesitance when you consider how the majority of his players have been performing this season.

Lindelof and Bailly can’t nail down starting spots ahead of Smalling and Jones, Mkhitaryan was soon shipped off to Arsenal and Alexis Sanchez brought in, on a huge salary, but he’s failed to earn much of that so far.

Throw in a troubled Pogba and in-and-out Lukaku and it’s hard to judge many of Mourinho’s signings as a success.

Sporting Life's big game preview for Liverpool v Manchester United
Sporting Life's big game preview for Liverpool v Manchester United

Verdict

Klopp is by far the more popular, with his own fans and the footballing world as a whole, and it does seem like these two managers are on opposite trajectories both in their own careers and in their current jobs. Never rule out Mourinho though, especially in a one-off game like this where he's more than capable of extracting a result.

The fact he'd probably take a point, and will also probably finish a decent way below Klopp's side might be the most damming indictment on his season, should he see it out at Old Trafford, as fans there will demand much more if he's to stay on as manager.

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