Liverpool forward Sadio Mane scored two decisive goals against Manchester City in the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley on Saturday. The goals not only took his side to the final of the tournament, keeping Liverpool’s quadruple hopes alive, but also helped the Senegalese forward script a record against the immaculate Citizens.

Mane’s brace against Pep Guardiola’s side on Saturday marked his ninth goal against City since his move to the Premier League in 2014. In fact, according to Opta, since the 2014-15 season, no player since has scored more goals against City in all competitions than Mane.

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Liverpool’s win over City in the FA Cup also took Jurgen Klopp’s number of wins against Guardiola to 10, making the German the only manager to have achieved double figure victories over the brilliant Spanish tactician. As it stands, Klopp has 10 victories in 24 meetings with Guardiola, with five draws and nine losses.

However, that stat alone does not tell the whole story: while Klopp indeed boasts an impressive record against the seemingly invincible Guardiola, the German’s track record was initially a poor one.

Klopp’s first meetings with Guardiola happened in the Bundesliga, when the German was the manager of Borussia Dortmund and the Spaniard was in charge of Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich.

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After joining Liverpool in 2015, Klopp started well against Pellgrini’s City, winning his first couple of matches against his future rivals.

Guardiola’s arrival in the summer of 2016, however, changed City’s fortunes. Despite losing 1-0 to Liverpool at Anfield in his first meeting with Klopp in the Premier League, Guardiola and his men went on to draw their next game with the Reds, and secured an emphatic 5-0 victory in their next meeting in September 2017.

2018 was largely Liverpool’s year vis-a-vis the Klopp-Guardiola rivalry, and the Reds recorded important wins against the Citizens in both the Premier League and the Champions League.

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2019 also went Liverpool’s way in terms of the balance of victories in what was fast becoming an era-defining rivalry, but 2020 onwards, City turned the tide, recording several emphatic victories and exhilarating draws against the Reds.

Going into last weekend’s Premier League match against City, Klopp had managed just one win in his last five games against Guardiola’s team, but last Sunday’s 2-2 draw, and this Saturday’s 3-2 victory was an emphatic rejoinder reminding Guardiola that his immaculate side were not, in fact, perfect.