Paris Saint-Germain is under immense pressure heading into the knockout phase of the UEFA Champions League against Borussia Dortmund and Liverpool FC manager Jürgen Klopp added to it.
At his pre-match press conference ahead of Liverpool FC’s Champions League match against Atlético Madrid, Klopp was asked about his comments to The Guardian where he said Juventus FC are the favorites to win the Champions League.
Juventus manager, Maurizio Sarri, responded by essentially saying that Klopp is attempting to shift the focus off his club as the favorites onto another club.
When Sarri’s comments were told to Klopp on Monday, he admitted he didn’t think about the impact of his words and then quickly named another team as favorites to win the Champions League…PSG!
Klopp on saying Sarri's Juve are strong: I don't want to put pressure on anyone, I'm not into mind games. But sometimes I don't think before I speak. I respect him. Sometimes I say things people shouldn't take too serious. But biggest favourite is PSG, now they have pressure!
— Ian Doyle (@IanDoyleSport) February 17, 2020
Klopp could have named any team but it’s interesting he chose PSG as the favorites. As you know, PSG’s current manager, Thomas Tuchel, took over at Dortmund when Klopp left in 2015 and now Tuchel leads PSG into a highly-anticipated match against his and Klopp’s former team.
Klopp is well aware of PSG’s history of buckling under the pressure and if Dortmund takes out PSG, that’s one less big team Klopp has to face in the tournament.
At his press conference, Klopp did say that he doesn’t think what he says will put any pressure on teams and maybe he’s right, but that doesn’t mean he’s not trying to play mind games through the media.
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