Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp admits ‘life’s too short’ to worry about the current success of both Manchester clubs but he accepts next season is likely to be even tougher as the competition for the top four increases.
Pep Guardiola’s side are on the verge of reclaiming the Premier League title and hold the advantage in their Champions League semi-final against Paris Saint-Germain after the first leg, while United virtually assured their place in the Europa League final with a 6-2 thrashing of Roma.
Defending league champions Liverpool, meanwhile, have been left trailing in the scrap for a top-four place and they are outsiders in that race but Klopp is not casting envious glances down the M62.
‘We are responsible for the things that happen to us. We were involved in the last few years constantly in semi-finals and fighting or league titles,’ he said.
‘I don’t know if other teams felt bad because of us but I wish for them not, I’m not like that. I’m not a person like this.
‘They deserve the situation they are in. That is football, that is fair. They (City) won an awful lot of games. United turned the game around (against Roma) – like they did 20 times this year.
‘I had my bad moments in the season for other reasons, not because other teams are winning more games than us.
‘That’s not my problem, my only problem is with the opponent of the specific weekend and not think “Oh my God, City again and United are back on track”.
‘Life is too short for these kind of worries or thoughts.
‘We will challenge them again next year but this year we can only finish our season as good as possible and we have nothing to do with semi-finals and finals.’
Liverpool face United on Sunday looking for their first win at Old Trafford in seven years – before Klopp’s arrival at the club.
However, victory is imperative if they are to maintain their outside hopes of Champions League qualification and the German accepts things will only get more difficult next season.
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