Paris Saint-Germain manager Thomas Tuchel has hailed Jurgen Klopp as “unbelievable” ahead of his side’s Champions League showdown against Liverpool.
The German, 45, paid tribute to his countryman as PSG prepare to host the Merseyside giants in the most eagerly anticipated of this week’s fixtures in Europe’s premier competition.
Speaking at his media conference on Tuesday evening, as quoted by the personal Twitter account of Merseyside correspondent Neil Jones, Tuchel heaped praise upon Liverpool.
He claimed he is “not surprised at all” Liverpool are on pushing so hard for the Premier League title due to the “unbelievable job” Klopp has done in maintaining the intensity of the team’s performances.
Tuchel: "I cannot say why #LFC lost matches, but I am not surprised at all by their performance. Jurgen has done an unbelievable job, an unbelievable trainer. He did an awfully good job to put this machine on the pitch every three days."
— Neil Jones (@neiljonesgoal) November 27, 2018
OPINION
Tuchel is six years Klopp’s junior and has followed a very similar career path to his fellow German, making his name at Mainz before joining Bundesliga big guns Borussia Dortmund, and then heading overseas for one of Europe’s elite jobs. Klopp headed to Liverpool three years ago, while Tuchel is at Paris Saint-Germain, aiming to make them pre-eminent in European as well as domestic competition. Tuchel’s admiration for Klopp was clear at his media conference, as gushing as it was genuine. What stood out was how impressed he has been that Klopp has selected virtually his strongest side for every Premier League and Champions League fixture this season, no mean feat given the intensity and demands of those two competitions. The manager is only a trophy away from cementing his reputation as a true coaching great after winning two German titles in his homeland. He has come very close at Liverpool, with three losing finals on his CV, including the Champions League final last season.