Jurgen Klopp has just delivered Man City his latest Liverpool blow amid title race

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has extended his contract and it means the Reds will continue to go stride for stride with Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City.
Jurgen Klopp poses after signing a new Liverpool contract. Picture: Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty ImagesJurgen Klopp poses after signing a new Liverpool contract. Picture: Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images
Jurgen Klopp poses after signing a new Liverpool contract. Picture: Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images

Waking up after a Champions League semi-final victory would have been enough to make every Kopites’ morning dandy.

With Villarreall put to the sword, Liverpool fans could be forgiven if they started to look into travel arrangements ahead of a jaunt to Paris next month.

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They’d witnessed another memorable European night at Anfield.

This might not have been of the ilk of Barcelona, Chelsea or St Etienne.

Instead, the Reds clinched most comfortable of 2-0 wins against a side who’d knocked out Juventus and Bayern Munich.

It was a performance of pure dominance - engineered by Jurgen Klopp.

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Liverpool’s commander-in-chief masterminded another win on the grandest of stages.

Yet while fans have revelled in every victory of this remarkable season, there’s always been a tinge of fear what will happen when Klopp leaves Merseyside.

Those fears have been alleviated for another two years, though.

As news broke out on Thursday morning that Liverpool were in discussions to extend Klopp’s contract, Kopites must have thought they were still dreaming.

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Come late afternoon, it was announced he’d be staying until 2026.

The proverbial saying in football is no-one is bigger than the club. For the most part, that’s true.

But what Klopp has achieved, perhaps he may be the anomaly.

Since arriving six-and-a-half-years ago, Liverpool have gone from perpetual underachievers to European giants once again.

Doubters are well past the point of becoming believers like Klopp promised. They're entrenched, spellbound and in full belief of every word the German says.

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So they should be. There's been no hyperbole or falsehoods. Everything Klopp thought he could achieve has been yielded.

The 30-year wait for a top-flight title was ended. A sixth Champions League adorns the Anfield trophy cabinet.

And come the end of May, the Reds could accomplish something so unprecedented that's regarded as nye-on impossible: the quadruple.

This, let’s not forget, has all happened while Manchester City have been there.

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A Man City side that has the footballing equivalent of Albert Einstein in Pep Guardiola as manager.

A Man City outfit that has spent vast amounts on players. Some of whom - £100m record signing Jack Grealish included - don't even feature regularly.

Let's be frank, if Klopp wasn't at Liverpool then the Premier League would have become mundane over the past few years. Every season would have become banal and finished by March.

City would have dominated even more than they already have done already.

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Certainly, their name would be scribed onto the 2020 Premier League title was

There's every chance City would have gleaned a maiden Champions League - along with the Club World Cup and UEFA Super Cuper.

Maybe an extra FA Cup, too, had Liverpool not won the semi-final at Wembley last month.

Meanwhile, the likes of Mo Salah and Virgil van Dijk could well be donning sky blue rather than blood red.

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It's a remarkable feat that Liverpool have matched Guardiola's side as fiercely as they have done and for so long.

As Jamie Carragher pinpointed, this is the greatest rivalry in Premier League history. Many concur.

Manchester United and Arsenal's battles were intense, firey and produced unforgettable moments in the late 1990s/ early 2000s.

But in terms of footballing quality all over the pitch, the Reds and City's ranks ahead. This campaign’s title race has been enthralling. Nobody wants it to come to an end.

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When Guardiola eventually leaves, rival supporters throughout the country will hope it's the start of City's downfall - akin to what happened at Manchester United when Sir Alex Ferguson departed.

And there's no doubt that City fans will feel the same about Klopp.

Finding a successor for who's widely regarded as Liverpool's third-best manager in history - only after icons Bill Shankly and Bob Paisley - will be an unenviable task.

Just ask the hierarchy at Old Trafford. They're onto their fifth attempt at finding the correct Ferguson replacement in Erik ten Hag.

But Klopp's remaining for another four years.

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It reaffirms belief that Liverpool will be remaining at the zenith in England and Europe.

It bolsters their chances of now tying down the likes of Mo Salah and Sadio Mane to new deals.

It boosts aspirations of continuing to recruit the most coveted players on the planet.

The news of Klopp’s new deal would have sent a seismic shock to east Manchester.