Greatest Premier League managers: How do Guardiola and Klopp compare?
Greatest Premier League managers: How do Guardiola and Klopp compare?

Greatest Premier League managers: How do Guardiola and Klopp compare?

The Premier League can lay claim to featuring arguably the two best managers in the world at the moment, in Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp.

Manchester City supremo Guardiola and Liverpool boss Klopp have shared the last five domestic titles, while being involved in four of the previous five Champions League finals.

How do their records compare with the greatest Premier League managers?

Points per match and goal difference

Guardiola’s City and Klopp’s Liverpool have pushed each other to new heights in recent seasons, with both teams surpassing 90 points on multiple occasions.

Guardiola has achieved an unprecedented 2.35 points per game in the Premier League as City boss, while Klopp is a fraction behind Manchester United legend Sir Alex Ferguson, averaging 2.16 points per match.

Among managers to have overseen 200 games, Jose Mourinho has also achieved more than two points per match, just ahead of Arsene Wenger on 1.96.

There is a bit of a drop after Wenger to the next man on the list, with former Tottenham and Southampton boss Mauricio Pochettino on 1.79.

City and Liverpool are able to dominate games like no teams before them. Teams coached by Guardiola and Klopp have a better goal difference per game than any other managers with 200 Premier League matches to their name.

The Spaniard in particular has an unbelievable record, with his players scoring more goals and conceding fewer per match than anyone else at 2.48 and 0.80 respectively.

Major trophy hauls

Guardiola has nine major trophies to his name at City, all in domestic competitions, while Klopp has five with Liverpool, three in England and two continental.

Only three other managers can boast a trophy haul of five or more while managing in the Premier League: Ferguson (23), Wenger (10) and Mourinho (nine).

Guardiola has won trophies at a faster rate than any other Premier League manager, tying Mourinho’s haul in just six seasons.

However, even if he continues at the same rate, he will need another nine years to match Ferguson. Klopp would require a further 24 years at his current rate to equal the legendary Scot.

For the purposes of this analysis, the Premier League, FA Cup, League Cup, Champions League, Europa League and Club World Cup are defined as major trophies.

Individual accolades

Ferguson was crowned Manager of the Season in 11 of the 21 Premier League campaigns when he was in charge at Old Trafford and the award was available, a ratio of above 50%.

Guardiola comes closest to matching that record, having won the annual award three times in six years. Mourinho and Wenger also won it three times each, over 12 and 22 seasons respectively. Klopp has collected it twice from seven attempts.

Guardiola and Klopp have snapped up the Manager of the Month prize at a faster rate than anyone else, perhaps reflecting their high win rates and impressive points tallies.

Mourinho might feel aggrieved to have received the monthly award on just four occasions, despite being one of the league’s most successful managers. The likes of Martin O’Neill (eight), Rafael Benitez (seven) and Claudio Ranieri (five) have been recognised more often.

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