Jurgen Klopp refutes Pep Guardiola's diving claim against Sadio Mane

Liverpool play Manchester City at Anfield on Sunday, November 10 (10:00 pm IST). The top two sides in the Premier League registered nail-biting 2-1 victories in their respective games on Premier League Matchday 11. Liverpool netted a late goal in the dying minutes of the game through a Sadio Mane header, while Kyle Walker was on hand to deliver three points for Manchester City against Southampton. 

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Speaking after the win against Southampton, Pep Guardiola said that when his players headed into the locker room after their win, Liverpool were level with Aston Villa. However, moments later it was 2-1, which meant Liverpool held on to their six-point lead at the top of the table. Commenting on Liverpool's win, Guardiola said that Liverpool have a "special talent" of sorts, which sometimes means Liverpool players dive in order to secure wins or score incredible goals in the dying minutes. Guardiola's comments referred to an incident wherein Liverpool's Sadio Mane went down in the Aston Villa box after being pursued by Villa full-back Frederic Guilbert. Referee Jonathan Moss adjudged Mane to have dived and awarded a yellow card to the Senegalese for simulation. 

Also Read | Pep Guardiola Accuses Sadio Mane Of Diving; Calls It 'Special Talent'

Jurgen Klopp defends Sadio Mane

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp also had a few words in response to Pep Guardiola's comments. Jurgen Klopp went on to say that he was not sure whether Guardiola referred to Mane, specifically, in his comments, or to the Liverpool team as a whole. However, either way, Guardiola's comments were "not too nice". Klopp also questioned the timing of his comments, as he wondered how Guardiola was aware of the incident that quickly after the game, considering that City were still in action during the incident. Klopp also took a subtle dig at the Spaniard, stating that while he himself was not interested in such talk, he would avoid mentioning the subject of tactical fouls. Pep Guardiola is known to have said that he does not set up his team in a way that would require his players to commit tactical fouls to break up the play. However, in an interview with the British media, new signing Rodri stated that he was learning to commit tactical fouls by the Man City coaches during training. 

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Liverpool's first-choice goalkeeper Alisson Becker also leapt to the defence of Sadio Mane. Alisson stated that Sadio Mane was a top player, and as such he agreed with Guardiola's assessment of the same. However, Jurgen Klopp went on to say that Sadio Mane is not a player who is accustomed to diving in order to win a penalty. Klopp stated there was some contact, which was why Sadio Mane went down, however, the incident may not have been a penalty. Klopp also said that if such an incident were to occur in favour of City, he was sure that the City players would appeal for a penalty too. 

Pep Guardiola's comments come at a time when Manchester City are scheduled to visit Anfield on Matchday 11 of the Premier League. The current champions are six points behind Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool. As such, the visit to Anfield means that Man City will have an opportunity to cut Liverpool's lead to just three points. 

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