Pep Guardiola’s record at Anfield

He is one of the greatest managers of all time, but Pep Guardiola has rarely had things his own way when visiting Anfield, the home of Liverpool.

The Catalan boss never made the pilgrimage to Merseyside as the boss of either Barcelona or Bayern Munich before he arrived in the Premier League in 2016.

The Reds were an average side for the early part of the 2010s – a title challenge in 2013/14 under Brendan Rodgers aside – but when Jurgen Klopp was signed to replace the Northern Irishman in 2015, an all-time rivalry with Guardiola soon blossomed.

The pair squared off in the Bundesliga in the years prior and no other manager has beaten Guardiola as often as Klopp. A considerable number of those wins have arrived at Anfield, which hasn’t been a happy hunting ground for Man City despite their modern Premier League dominance.

Here’s Guardiola’s record at the home of the Reds.

Klopp and Guardiola’s head-to-head record was locked at four wins apiece when they met for the first time as Liverpool and Man City managers.

Klopp had been at Anfield for 15 months and his side were showing plenty of signs of their future success, though league campaigns early in the German’s reign were more focused on Champions League qualification.

There was just the one goal in Guardiola’s first visit to Anfield, with Georginio Wijnaldum’s eighth-minute header proving decisive as the Reds moved within six points of eventual champions Chelsea.

Little over a year later, Liverpool showed their capability of hanging with established top-tier opposition like Man City in a pulsating 4-3 win over Guardiola’s outfit.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s drive was cancelled out by Leroy Sane shortly before half-time, but a blitz from the hosts early in the second period sent Anfield into raptures.

Three goals in ten minutes from Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah put Reds fans in dreamland at 4-1, though late efforts from Bernardo Silva and Ilkay Gundogan shrunk City’s losing deficit to one.

If Man City weren’t quaking in their boots prior to their visit to Merseyside in April 2018, they certainly should have been.

The Cityzens were favourites for the Champions League in 2017/18 but their hopes of a first European crown went up in smoke at a fiery Anfield as the Reds proved their credentials once again.

Salah, who was enjoying an iconic first season at Liverpool, grabbed the opener before Oxlade-Chamberlain and Mane made it 3-0 with little over half an hour played.

Klopp’s side completed the job at the Etihad to reach the semi-finals, though they were ultimately defeated by Real Madrid in the final in Kyiv.

Finally, a true blowout. After three defeats on the bounce, Guardiola might have been happy if he’d been offered a goalless draw before kick-off.

However, the point gained could have been three had Riyad Mahrez not wasted a penalty after Sane was brought down by Virgil van Dijk, who was playing against City for Liverpool for the first time since signing from Southampton earlier in 2018.

Guardiola has never been as visibly rattled as a visiting manager than he was in a 3-1 defeat to Liverpool in November 2019.

The Catalan boss was left incensed by the performance of referee Michael Oliver. Fabinho fired in moments after City had a penalty appeal for a handball against Trent Alexander-Arnold turned down.

Salah made it 2-0 before half-time while Mane got on the scoresheet in the second half. Bernardo Silva bagged the Cityzens’ consolation, but Guardiola was left fuming again when Raheem Sterling’s pass hit Alexander-Arnold’s hand in the box.

He needed just four words when shaking Oliver’s hand at full-time: “Thank you so much.”

City would gain some revenge by winning the reverse fixture 4-0, though Liverpool had already sealed their maiden Premier League title by July in the Covid-19 affected 2019/20.

Over five years after arriving in England, Guardiola finally earned his first win at Anfield in 2021.

It was a flowing attacking performance from the visitors with no fans in attendance, though their heavy 4-1 win was aided by one of Alisson’s worst games in a Liverpool shirt.

All the goals came in the second half after a penalty miss from Gundogan in the opening 45 minutes. The German still notched a brace, firing in his first after Alisson could only palm away Phil Foden’s effort.

Salah equalised from the spot but two poor clearances from the home shot-stopper gifted goals to Gundogan and Sterling before Foden capped his exceptional showing by rattling in his side’s fourth.

Supporters were back in attendance for an Anfield thriller in October 2021 and were treated to a wonderful solo effort from Salah during an entertaining 2-2 draw.

It was another second-half spectacle, with all four strikes arriving in the final half hour. Mane capitalised on Salah’s fabulous run and pass to fire the hosts in front, though a piercing Foden finish had City back level soon after.

Salah beat three City defenders with quick feet and breezed past Aymeric Laporte before lashing into the far corner.

That piece of brilliance looked to have earned Klopp another win over Guardiola at Anfield, but Kevin De Bruyne’s shot from the edge of the box deflected off Joel Matip and sailed over the diving Alisson to nick the visitors a point.

Liverpool had a different type of beast to tame when Man City visited Anfield in October 2022. Erling Haaland had already scored on Liverpool’s home patch a few years prior in the Champions League for RB Salzburg and was in razor-sharp form ahead of this meeting.

The Norwegian had scored in all but one of his opening ten Premier League games but was kept at bay by the Reds defence. For all City’s intricate play, it was a route one goal that separated the two sides here.

Salah took advantage of Joao Cancelo’s slip to race through and clip beyond Ederson in the 76th minute.

It was a hot-tempered battle that saw Klopp sent off by referee Anthony Taylor for some late protestations, but the German was later delighted with the win, having previously only taken ten points from the first eight league games in an ultimately disappointing 2022/23 campaign.

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