Maurizio Sarri and Jurgen Klopp had nothing but praise for each other after Chelsea drew Liverpool. The wonderful rivalry has begun.
Chelsea fans are used to their manager going tit for tat with opposition managers. Sometimes, it is because they started the fight (see Jose Mourinho on days that end in “Y”) or because they were provoked (see Antonio Conte reacting to something Mourinho said). But it is becoming increasingly common in the modern game for managers to actively go hand in hand with one another.
So when Chelsea versus Liverpool, back to back, was put on to the calendar, many would not have been surprised to see some barbs traded back and forth. After all, that is what has become normal since Liverpool started competing for trophies again. At best, it could be said that Jurgen Klopp and Conte tolerated each other. They were two sides of the same passionate coin but who came to very different conclusions about football.
Maurizio Sarri and Klopp are not the same. When the match at Stamford Bridge ended, the two immediately turned to each other and went in for a hug while smiling from ear to ear. These two managers do not despise each other. They love what the other is doing. Two sides of the same coin with both sides being heads. This is the modern rivalry.
Sarri called the match “wonderful” and “beautiful”. He was not the least bit disappointed by the draw. He was simply happy to have seen a great football match. The result was secondary to that.
Klopp said both teams deserved the point in a rare bit of commentary. Klopp is a fiery manager and for him to say a draw was what was deserved means that he truly believes that. There is only love between these two.
And on the surface, that makes sense. Both prefer their teams to press hard and to play the ball up field as quickly as possible. Sarri’s system is a little more possession based, but the rest of the idea is the same. So it was as if both teams faced themselves to a draw.
Of course, some may cringe at the idea of “a beautiful game” being better than “a winning game”. And that is okay. Chelsea fans have been in that mentality since Jose Mourinho was manager. To now have a manager that favors the aesthetic despite the result will take some getting used to.
But so long as Sarri turns around from the two back to back draws in the league, there should be little worry about his beauty or his new wonderful rivalry (or friendship) with Klopp. Chelsea sits third in the table and two points off the top. Luckily for the Blues, the two teams above them face off next. The Blues also have a two point cushion over their rivals in North London with a fairly easy schedule ahead of them.
Sarri and Klopp may have drawn in the one they both wanted to win, but they were both happy with how it played out. Now it is important to regroup and take advantage of the other slipping in the league at some point.