The Liverpool manager said before the confrontation between Liverpool and Atletico that he did not like the kind of football Diego Simeone pursued at Atletico but he respected the opponent.
Once again Liverpool and Atletico Madrid faced each other. In February 2020, Liverpool were eliminated by Atletico in the 1/8 round of the C1 Cup after 2 defeats. The close, high-speed attacking football of Juergen Klopp at that time could not bring into full play its power when it encountered the pragmatic and calculated football of Diego Simeone.
After Liverpool were knocked out of the C1 Cup by Atletico, Klopp was so upset that he questioned whether Atletico played football properly or not. Klopp later explained that it was just his temporary emotion at the time, but he did not mean anything deep.
Diego Simeone probably doesn't care much about how Klopp feels and thinks about the football he pursues. Decades of years, from the day he led Atletico, he is still the same, still loyal and fond of football that puts efficiency first, no matter what anyone says and thinks about him and Atletico Madrid.
"To be honest, I don't like Simeone's football. But that's normal. Each coach pursues different styles of football. I like different football than Simeone. But it's okay. You don't have to make other people like your football. How to kick, kick as long as you win. That's exactly Simeone's football," Klopp told a press conference ahead of Liverpool's trip to Atletico Madrid's Wanda Metropolitano.
The Liverpool manager certainly said what he thought, but no matter what he said, Diego Simeone did not change. Atletico's forces change over time. Stars come and go, but Simeone's winning formula for Atletico Madrid remains the same.
Still a pragmatic football, sometimes even to the point of "ugly" as the media has repeatedly described. The match at the Wanda Metropolitano was literally a fight, as Klopp said.
It is a competition between two opposing styles of football like water and fire. Liverpool played with a high defense, kicking close to the opponent's side, moving the ball quickly and running non-stop to open the space, actively looking for opportunities to score.
Atletico play defensive counterattack, stalking, waiting for the opponent to make mistakes, losing focus to launch punishment. Both teams are proactive with their play style.
Liverpool actively look for goals and win with quick kicks and are always ready to put pressure on the opponent whenever they lose the ball with the goal of regaining the ball as quickly as possible to start the next attack.
Atletico actively defended both with the majority and according to the area, finding ways to squeeze the game space and disrupt the opponent's play, waiting for the opponent's opportunity to open up, make mistakes to launch the finishing blow.
Klopp is obsessed with high-speed football in a system that requires players to move constantly with and without the ball in order to open space and score goals.
Klopp requires defenders to be ready and able to push forward, close in on opponents to put pressure, despite the gaps that are revealed behind the defence.
Diego Simeone only thinks about winning and doing everything to win, Atletico players not only defend with many layers, blocking space but also ready to foul whenever they see it necessary to stop the opponent from playing, ready to buy time, ready to surround the referee to pressure the opponent to take a free kick and draw a card.
Klopp's high-speed attacking football confronts Diego Simeone's pragmatic defensive football. Who will win the fight at the Wanda Metropolitano?