Pep Guardiola arrived in Manchester last year with a hefty weight of expectations on his shoulders, expectations that he failed to meet.

Even before he had stepped foot into the Etihad for the first time, everyone appeared adamant that he would win the league in his first season, just as he had done previously at Barcelona and Bayern Munich.

Things started well for the Catalan manager as City won their first six league games- the dream start.

However, things quickly altered and the season didn’t pan out the way in which he would have hoped it would.

The Sky Blues came third in the league in the end, 15 points adrift of champions Chelsea, and were knocked out of all cup competitions.

People started to doubt Guardiola after this, with some going as far to call him a ‘ fraud’.

Many argued that so far in his managerial career he has had everything handed to him on a silver platter,  at Barcelona in particular, as one could argue that having the best player in the world in Lionel Messi on your side, would make life significantly easier.

‘Welcome to the Premier League, Pep,’ was a catchphrase that Guardiola would become accustomed to during his first season. Because of his past success, people were keen to shoot him down after failing to deliver instantaneously.

What you have to remember, though, was that this was his first season in charge, he was still getting to grips with life in the league and he has shown this campaign that those who put forward the case that he was a failure are now void, and quite considerably too.

Now in his second season, he has got his side playing some breath-taking football, the Sky Blues have begun in a similar fashion to last season where they won their first six on the bounce.

After six successive triumphs, City slid down the table, however.

Some are stating that could happen again this campaign, but this time seems totally incomparable.

City have scored a mind boggling 42 goals in 13 games this term (an average of 3.2 goals per game), compared to a figure of 29 at this point last year. But the most notable statistic is that they’ve only shipped eight goals so far. Whereas in gameweek 15 last season, they had already shipped 19 goals.

The Sky Blues have won 12 of a possible 13 matches in the league, only dropping points to Everton in a 1-1 draw back in August.

The standard of football being played is reminiscent of the breathtaking football Barcelona were blessed with under Guardiola, which has prompted predictions of a repeat of Arsenal’s 2003/04 ‘ invincibles’ season to be achieved.

It appears as if the Catalan has finally pieced together the puzzle that we call the Premier League. It has been a tough and testing challenge for Pep that’s for sure. He has seen his defence tumble like jenga blocks and has endured games of frustration, in order to determine his best lineup.

Though, It appears he is on the cusp of calling ‘checkmate’.

But where does this link to Klopp, what is it that he could take from Manuel Pellegrini’s successor?

Guardiola identified problems and fixed them.  

The Sky Blues’ downfall was their dodgy defence, and what did Guardiola do? He prompted a mass clear out in the summer, removing all the deadwood that was holding him back.

Bacary Sagna– Released.

Aleksandar Kolarov– Sold.

Gael Clichy- Released.

Pablo Zabaleta-  Released.

Willy Caballero- Released.

Claudio Bravo- Benched.

He was aware to the situation, took immediate action and is now reaping the rewards.

The former Bayern Munich manager transformed a weak and wobbly back-line to a rejuvenated and rock-solid unit, in all the space of one year.

Reinforcements were added in the summer. Full backs, Benjamin Mendy and Danilo, from Monaco and Real Madrid respectively, have been shrewd additions, though, Mendy’s unfortunate long-term injury means we won’t be seeing much of him this season, which is a shame given his promising start to life at the Etihad.

Claudio Bravo was a major liability in goal, so Brazilian, Ederson, from Benfica was shipped in.  Kyle Walker was recruited from Spurs, in a position that demanded attention.

Klopp has been at Liverpool for two years now, and in that two years he has spent just £4.2 million on centre backs (Ragnar Klavan £4.2 million + Joel Matip free), even though this is an area that anyone could see is crying out for a re-assessment.

Guardiola splashed out £150 million in the summer on defensive reinforcements alone, and while some raised eyebrows over the figures being paid, it has undoubtedly been money well spent.

The issues have been sat in plain sight for Klopp from the moment he arrived, he cannot downplay them any further; action must be taken now.

Reds fans have been left frustrated as the same defensive errors creep in each week.

Two calamitous collapses in the space of four days against Sevilla and Chelsea have been further reminders that Liverpool’s  inability to see games out is their biggest downfall, which more often than not; tends to stem from the back.

Guardiola has exemplified how you should deal with such a situation, while Klopp has come across naïve at times; almost trying to paper over the cracks. But that is a tough ask when Liverpool’s defence has the same stability as the British pound amidst Brexit.

The pragmatic and precise decision-making shown by Guardiola is something that Klopp should adhere to. Just imagine the frightening possibilities if the German too can unlock the full potential of his side.

Tom Cavilla.