Jurgen Klopp didn’t rise to it.
One could have taken Sky Sports’ line of questioning after Liverpool’s 3-1 victory over Everton as an attempt to stir the pot between the managers.
Klopp and Koeman exchanged words on the touchline throughout the fiery Merseyside derby on Saturday afternoon.
Klopp took umbrage to a number of challenges from Toffees players and, as his tendency, he let referee Anthony Taylor know all about it.
Ross Barkley’s aggression, in particular, received some vociferous reactions from Klopp and his staff which is something that Koeman condemned after the game.
“It’s part of football. I also saw some tackles from Lucas and that’s all about football,” Koeman said. “We don’t make a show like the bench of Liverpool about faults, what happened on the pitch.
“We are different. We are more into the game and not about what happened with referees, linesmen and tackles…
“I don’t like coaches from the bench the whole time shouting at referees and linesmen, making a big show about tackles.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=173&v=21mHRaabgP8
“There was one tackle and they went crazy when they didn’t even need a physio on the pitch. It’s not what I like.
“It’s a man’s sport and your behaviour has to be like that.”
And with explicit criticism like that in his back pocket, the Sky Sports’ presenter conducting the post-match interviews had plenty of fodder for his subsequent chat with Klopp.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBuJ10Zvd7g
But Klopp didn’t take the bait as he issued a composed response when told that Koeman had been speaking about his behaviour.
“Ronald Koeman spoke about me?” Klopp said. “Then again, talk about it if you want.”
Given the German’s feisty temperament, he did well to bite his tongue but it was clear he wanted the headlines to be about his side’s performance and not about a petty dispute between managers.
