Jurgen Klopp was keen to pay tribute to Brendan Rodgers’ success in Scotland when previewing Liverpool’s upcoming meeting with Leicester City in the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup.
Both sides have tasted the bitter pill of positive COVID tests of late, with the Reds’ midfield utterly decimated by the virus, sidelining the likes of Virgil van Dijk and Fabinho.
“Brendan enjoyed incredible success in Scotland with Celtic. Their dominance under him was frightening,” the 54-year-old wrote in his programme notes (as reported by liverpoolfc.com).
“I think consolidating that by winning a trophy in England also is a big statement. Their performance in the final outlined why, under Brendan, they are the real deal to consistently challenge for honours.
“They are the complete package. An excellent squad of players with great balance and who are developing season-on-season.
“They have new training facilities to go with a ground that is always full and passionately behind them. And an outstanding football leader in Brendan. Cool mix.
“Today, though, we are rivals and we desperately want to end their participation in this cup competition. There is a semi-final place up for grabs. We want it and so do they. So, let’s go. Game on.”
The Foxes, likewise, have suffered at the hands of the pandemic, with Kelechi Iheanacho and Jannik Vestergaard among the names affected.
There’s no questioning the managerial talent available to former Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers as fans of the club will have experienced first-hand when the Northern Irishman came close to guiding the club to our first league title in over two decades in the 2013/14 nearly campaign.
The 48-year-old has come on leaps and bounds since that point, with us likewise having enjoyed a remarkable upward trajectory under the leadership of Klopp.
We’ll be wishing the Leicester boss the best of luck for the remainder of the season but only after we’ve hopefully ensured two consecutive victories against his outfit before the year is out.
EOTK Insider Opinion: FA’s verdict on Klopp’s critique of Tierney is alarming as well as correct