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Chelsea boss Pochettino lifts lid on Jurgen Klopp text message ahead of Liverpool clash
Mauricio Pochettino is hoping to break his rut against Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool this weekend.
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Mauricio Pochettino has a great deal of admiration for his friend and rival Jurgen Klopp but the Argentine tactician would love nothing more than to beat him on Sunday. Poch returns to the Premier League dug-out this weekend for the first time in four years after being appointed as Chelsea's new manager - and is looking forward to locking horns with his old foe Klopp.
In 11 competitive fixtures, Pochettino has only beaten the German once, which came back in October 2017 when Spurs dismantled a woeful Reds defence to secure a 4-1 victory in the Premier League. Klopp, on the other hand, has triumphed over Pochettino on six occasions while they have shared the points four times.
Liverpool's 2-0 Champions League triumph over Pochettino's Tottenham in 2019 spelt the beginning of the end of his reign in north London. Five months after the European final Pochettino had been sacked, with Spurs slipping down to 14th place in the Premier League table at the time.
But after a one-year spell at PSG which saw him guide Les Parisiens to a Ligue 1 and Coup de France double, Pochettino is back where he wants to be - managing in England's top flight.
As he prepared for his first competitive game in charge of Chelsea against Klopp and Liverpool at Stamford Bridge, Pochettino revealed he had received some kind words in a text message before the game from his old pal. "I love him, but I want to beat him — it’s going to be a good game and for sure I am going to enjoy meeting him again," he said. "I cannot tell you what he said in the message, but they were very nice words. [In the Champions League final] we competed really well and, for different reasons, they won.
“But I have nothing to say against Liverpool or Jurgen, that is football, and I hope we can arrive again one day and the result will be different. I enjoy his philosophy of football and how he is, his character.
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“I like him, he is a very warm person. His debut was against us at the old White Hart Lane and from then we have had a very good relationship and been good friends in between.
“Players who played for us at Southampton, like Adam Lallana, created a good link in between us. A player who loves us and then loves Jurgen is a good way to create good feelings between coaches and staff. We are both passionate, although he is better than me at showing it and making something of it because of his personality.”