It was a typically quotable compliment from Jurgen Klopp. “He is obviously a smart fox,” said the Liverpool manager 15 months ago. Carlo Ancelotti has been called many things – a triple Champions League winner and an all-time great among them – but the Italian has justified Klopp’s description.
Exclude penalty shootouts and only one manger has tasted victory twice against Klopp in a golden season and a half: Ancelotti. His Napoli felt almost immune to Liverpool’s excellence, making a potentially era-shaping side look distinctly ordinary in three of four meetings.
Liverpool were defeated at the San Paolo in consecutive autumns. Napoli got a draw at Anfield this season; but for a remarkable save from Alisson to deny Arkadiusz Milik, they would have done last season as well. But for that stop, Liverpool would not be Champions League winners now.
Everton’s new manager arrived with the sort of pedigree to appeal to a club who have not triumphed at Anfield since 1999 or beaten Liverpool anywhere since 2010. Ancelotti is in a select band, including Ralf Rangnick and Felix Magath, who have won more than they have lost against Klopp.
He has defeated Liverpool seven times with four different clubs. At his unveiling at Goodison Park, he smiled that Liverpool supporters "are worried to see me because I beat them a lot of times."
He has had a career of such magnitude that he has not been defined by his most famous defeat to them. A lesser manager would have been.
“A six-minute blackout,” Ancelotti wrote in his autobiography of events in Istanbul when AC Milan lost a 3-0 lead in the Champions League final to a Steven Gerrard-inspired Liverpool. “We were our own worst nightmare. The world turned upside down. I was paralysed … I was baffled; nothing made sense.”
Ancelotti has never watched the 2005 Champions League final back; he did win the 2007 counterpart, and at Liverpool’s expense. “It was too beautiful to take revenge for Istanbul,” Ancelotti subsequently said.
Theirs is a history that dates back 35 years; Ancelotti was sidelined when his Roma teammates lost the 1984 European Cup final to Liverpool on their home ground. He remains the last visiting manager to win a European game at Anfield, though Real Madrid’s 3-0 triumph came back in 2014. Earlier that year, he had eliminated Klopp’s Borussia Dortmund in the quarter-finals en route to winning yet another Champions League.
No wonder, then, that Klopp said in November: “If there is any manager in the world who does not need advice from me, it is Carlo Ancelotti.” The Italian’s response was eloquent. “He is one of the few people I would accept advice from, absolutely.”
On Friday, the ever popular Ancelotti said: “Jurgen is my friend.” Klopp responded by calling his counterpart: “One of the smartest people I have met.” Theirs is a mutual admiration society from men who are part of an exclusive group. Liverpool is the world’s only footballing city where both managers are Champions League winners.
Ancelotti, indeed, could have been in the home dugout on Sunday. He and Klopp were the two major contenders to replace Brendan Rodgers in 2015. It is safe to say Liverpool made the correct choice.
Ancelotti has been the manager who can massage superstars’ egos, coaxing successful sides to more triumphs. Klopp is the more dynamic, more transformative figure.
If Klopp emulated Ancelotti in June when he won his first Champions League, now the Italian’s task at Goodison Park is to mimic the German by reviving and reinventing a Merseyside club labouring under the shadow of its glorious past. But first he has to imitate Walter Smith, the last Everton manager to taste victory at Anfield.
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Liverpool's invincibles: an incredible year without a Premier League defeat – in pictures
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July 26, 2020, Newcastle 1 Liverpool 3: Liverpool players celebrate during the last game of the season. Reuters -
July 22, 2020, Liverpool 5 Chelsea 3: Naby Keita celebrates scoring the first goal with Georginio Wijnaldum. Reuters -
July 15, 2020, Arsenal 2 Liverpool 1: Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk in action against Arsenal's Reiss Nelson. EPA -
July 11, 2020, Liverpool 1 Burnley 1: Manager Jurgen Klopp reacts as Liverpool lose their 10-0 per cent home record. AFP -
July 8, 2020, Brighton 1 Liverpool 3: Mohamed Salah and teammate Sadio Mane in action against Brighton goalkeeper Mathew Ryan and Dan Burn. EPA -
July 5, 2020, Liverpool 2 Aston Villa 0: Curtis Jones celebrates scoring his team's second goal. AFP -
July 2, 2020, Manchester City 4 Liverpool 0: Manchester City's Raheem Sterling celebrates with Kevin De Bruyne on a bad night for Liverpool. EPA -
June 24, 2020, Liverpool 4 Crystal Palace 0: Sadio Mane celebrates after scoring the final goal. EPA -
June 21, 2020, Everton 0 Liverpool 0: Jordan Henderson speaks to his manager Jurgen Klopp after the Mersey derby stalemate, the first game post lockdown. EPA -
March 7, 2020, Liverpool 2 Bournemouth 1: James Milner celebrates after a win that takes the club even closer to the Premier League trophy - before the season came to a three-month halt. Reuters -
February 29, 2020, Watford 3 Liverpool 0: A shock defeat; Jurgen Klopp, defender Andrew Robertson and midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain at the final whistle. AFP -
Ferbruary 24, 2020, Liverpool 3 West Ham 2: Sadio Mane celebrates scoring the late winner after Liverpool came from 2-1 behind. EPA -
February 15, 2020, Norwich City 0 Liverpool 1: Sadio Mane scores the only goal to take Liverpool 25 points clear. Reuters -
February 01, 2020, Liverpool 4 Southampton 0: Mohamed Salah celebrates scoring the third. Reuters -
January 29, 2020, West Ham 0 Liverpool 2: Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is delighted after netting the second goal. Reuters -
January 23, 2020, Wolves 1 Liverpool 2: Roberto Firmino (R) celebrates with Dutch defender Virgil van Dijk after scoring the second. AFP -
January 19, 2020, Liverpool 2 Manchester United 0: Mohamed Salah celebrates after netting the second goal. Getty -
January 11, 2020, Tottenham 0 Liverpool 1: Roberto Firmino celebrates with Xherdan Shaqiri. Reuters -
January 2, 2020, Liverpool 2 Sheffield United 0: Sadio Mane, left, celebrates after scoring his team's second goal at Anfield. Reuters -
December 29, 2019, Liverpool 1 Wolves 0: Jurgen Klopp and Trent Alexander-Arnold at the end of another win at Anfield. Getty -
December 26, 2019, Leicester 0 Liverpool 4: James Milner celebrates after scoring the second goal with Jordan Henderson and Georginio Wijnaldum at The King Power Stadium. Getty -
December 14, 2019, Liverpool 2 Watford 0: Trent Alexander-Arnold takes a corner. Getty -
December 7, 2019, Bournemouth 0 Liverpool 3: Naby Keita nets the second goal at Vitality Stadium. Getty -
December 4, 2019, Liverpool 5 Everton 2: Sadio Mane scores the fourth goal in the Mersey derby. Getty -
November 30, 2019, Liverpool 2 Brighton 1: Virgil van Dijk celebrates scoring the second goal at Anfield. Getty -
November 23, 2019, Crystal Palace 1 Liverpool 2: Roberto Firmino scores his team's second goal at Selhurst Park. Getty -
November 10, 2019, Liverpool 3 Manchester City 1: Mohamed Salah celebrates with teammates after scoring the second goal at Anfield. Getty -
November 2, 2019, Aston Villa 1 Liverpool 2: Divock Origi watches a Sadio Mane shot cross the line for the second goal. Getty -
October 27, 2019, Liverpool 2 Tottenham 1: Mohamed Salah celebrates scoring the second goal from a penalty. Getty -
October 20, 2019, Manchester United 1 Liverpool 1: Adam Lallana celebrates after scoring at Old Trafford. Getty -
October 5, 2019, Liverpool 2 Leicester 1: James Milner celebrates with Jordan Henderson, Divock Origi and Andy Robertson after scoring the second goal from the penalty spot. Getty -
September 28, 2019, Sheffild United 0 Liverpool 1: Georginio Wijnaldum celebrates scoring at Bramall Lane. PA -
September 22, 2019, Chelsea 1 Liverpool 2: Roberto Firmino celebrates with teammates after scoring the second goal at Stamford Bridge. Getty -
September 14, 2019, Liverpool 3 Newcastle 1: Sadio Mane scores the first goal past Martin Dubravka. Getty -
Ausgust 31, 2019, Burnley 0 Liverpool 3: Sadio Mane is tackled by Jack Cork at Turf Moor. Getty -
August 24, 2019, Liverpool 3 Arsenal 1: Joel Matip celebrates in front of the Kop after scoring the opening goal. Getty -
August 17, 2019, Southampton 1 Liverpool 2: Adrian saves a shot from Jannik Vestergaard at St Mary's Stadium. Getty -
August 9, 2019, Liverpool 4 Norwich 1: Mohamed Salah scores the second goal on the opening day of the season at Anfield. Getty
