One of the great attractions that Boxing Day has to offer this Monday (where the Premier League also resumes this year after the World Cup break) is the rivalry between Unai Emery’s Aston Villa and Jürgen Klopp’s Liverpool at Villa Parkwhich comes at a crucial time for both coaches.
Emery and Klopp are two technicians who have met before on seven occasions, the first being the 2015-16 Europa League final, where the Basque-led Sevilla beat the German’s Liverpool 3-1, celebrating his first season at Anfield. The first European final was defeated by Klopp at the head of the Anfield team.
No less important was the last meeting between Unai Emery and Jürgen Klopp: the semifinals of the last Champions League, when the ‘reds’ prevented Villarreal then coached the Basque coach to reach the finals of the Champions League. Liverpool won the first leg (2-0 at Anfield) and the second leg (2-3) and lost in the final against Real Madrid (1-0).
History says that, in the 7 games in which they met, Klopp beat Unai Emery 5, who beat the German only once: in the aforementioned final. And there was a draw: a 1-1 draw at the Emirates in the 2018-19 Premier, when the current Aston Villa coach took charge of Arsenal.
In front of the ‘gunners’, Emery lost to Klopp 5-1 in the 2018-19 Premier and 3-1 in 2019-20. The Basques were also knocked out by Liverpool in an epic League Cup tie in 2019-20, 10-9 on penalties after a 5-5 draw.
Unai Emery and Jurgen Klopp They meet again this Monday, at least on Boxing Day. The Aston Villa manager has won two and lost two since taking over in October after leaving Villarreal. Those from Birmingham are 12th in the Premier and looking to climb the table.
Liverpool, 6th, 15 points behind leaders Arsenal and 7 behind the Champions League (but the 4th, Tottenham, played one more game), they have already made many mistakes in the English championship this year and they cannot afford to make more mistakes. Klopp’s men come from eliminating Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City, his great rivals, on Thursday in the round of 16 of the Carabao Cup, the League Cup.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
