Frank Lampard and Jurgen Klopp renew their rivalry after bust-up in 2020

In some ways, it’s a shame Anfield wasn’t at full throttle when Frank Lampard shouted at Jurgen Klopp for ‘f***ing giving it the big ‘un’ when Liverpool played Chelsea in July 2020.

But in others, it’s brilliant that the stadium is empty and the exchange was clearly caught for all to enjoy. And it was something to enjoy, no matter how unedifying some might have considered. The needle between two rival managers on the sidelines is something we rarely get to hear.

For those who may have forgotten, it was sparked by a foul on Sadio Mane – Lampard was furious at the referee’s decision while Klopp felt Mane was being targeted by Chelsea. Lampard was also incensed by the Liverpool bench rising to their feet to protest against the challenge. 

Jurgen Klopp and Frank Lampard infamously clashed when Liverpool played Chelsea in 2020

Lampard went at Klopp, saying he was ‘f***ing giving it the big ‘un’ after a foul on Naby Keita

Klopp tried to calm Lampard but it seemed to incense the then-Chelsea manager even more 

‘How is that a foul? There’s no foul there!’ Lampard shouted, before telling Klopp’s No 2 Pepijn Ljinders to sit down.

‘Calm down, calm down… don’t talk to my No 2,’ Klopp said back.

‘No, no, if he’s going off at me, I’ll f***ing say something!’ Lampard hit back with and when another member of Klopp’s staff said ‘it’s still a foul’, Lampard said: ‘It’s not a f***ing foul! I’m not asking you. Shut up.’

Klopp tried to intervene by shouting ‘hey’ but Lampard by this point was fuming: ‘F*** off you as well! One title you’ve won and you’re f***ing giving it the big ‘un! F*** off!’ 

Ironically, Trent Alexander-Arnold then stepped up and scored from the resulting free-kick. But Lampard wasn’t done there. After the match, where Liverpool had lifted the Premier League trophy at an empty Anfield, he raised more grievances.

‘I’ve got no problem with Jurgen Klopp, he has managed this team and it is fantastic,’ Lampard told Sky Sports News.

‘Some of the bench, it is a fine line between when you are winning and they have won the league, fair play to Liverpool Football Club but also don’t get too arrogant with it. In matchplay you get emotional and that is it.’

Once the celebrations died down, Klopp didn’t let things lie. He did not have an issue with what happened on the touchline during his side’s 5-3 triumph but it was the words Lampard used in his post-match assessment that he was eager to address.

‘You hit me with something like that – or my bench with something like that – because we are not arrogant,’ said Klopp.

Trent Alexander-Arnold scored from the resulting free-kick, adding insult to Lampard’s injury

Lampard and Klopp continued their exchanges in their comments after the game at Anfield

They have only faced each other once more and Liverpool ran out 2-0 winners 

‘Frank was in a really competitive mood and I respect that a lot. You can pretty much, from my point of view, say in a situation like that what you want.

‘For me, it’s after the game. It’s completely over. I have said a lot in the past and, because it is pure emotion, he came here to win the game.

‘To get a point, to make sure of Champions League qualification. I respect that a lot. But what he has to learn is to finish it with the final whistle.

‘He didn’t do that. Speaking after it like this is not OK. Frank has to learn. He has a lot of time to learn, he is a young coach. But he has to learn. During a game, words are used – no problem at all. But at the final whistle, all the things he said… we are not arrogant.

‘We are pretty much the opposite of arrogant in a moment like this. If you have arguments, you say something and you want to hurt the other person.

‘That is how it is. But no problem. The final whistle? Close the book, finish the book. That is what I don’t like. I think it makes sense to explain.’

The two managers have only met once more since that day, with Liverpool running out 2-0 winners at Stamford Bridge on the day Thiago Alcantara made his Reds debut.

Now at the helm of fierce rivals Everton, Lampard is scrapping to keep the club in the Premier League before his Toffees rebuild can begin in earnest. Liverpool are fighting to win an unprecedented quadruple and the prospect of lifting all four trophies alongside long-time rival Lampard going down with Everton is, quite simply, a salivating prospect. 

Lampard is an emotional manager but will need to make sure he doesn’t let the  intensity of the Merseyside derby get the better of him on Sunday evening. 

He admitted in his Friday press conference that he was ‘a bit misguided’ in how he handled the situation.

‘I know it was well-meaning at the time, probably just a bit misguided from my point of view – but I’ve seen lots of managers do that,’ he said. ‘When you actually speak with the managers…I’ve seen Jurgen since then when I was managing Chelsea and everything is fine.

‘We understand the passionate nature of the game and that’s what I like.’

Liverpool head into Sunday’s Merseyside derby in superb form and chasing a quadruple

Lampard and Everton, meanwhile, are battling to avoid relegation from the Premier League

Lampard may look at Mikel Arteta’s row with Klopp as a reason to stay cool in Sunday’s game

He may look to Liverpool’s match against Arsenal last November as a case in point. The two teams were drawing 0-0 at Anfield with the Gunners enjoying the better of proceedings until Mikel Arteta and Klopp clashed on the touchline after a tussle between Sadio Mane and Takehiro Tomiyasu.

Arteta reacted with uncharacteristic fury and had to be restrained by his coaching staff. But the incident fired up the Anfield crowd and in turn, it galvanised Klopp’s Liverpool team. 

Mane ended up putting Liverpool ahead before Diogo Jota, Sadio Mane and Takumi Minamino hit the back of the net in the second half. 

Liverpool are in stunning form at the moment and Lampard will know, deep down, his Everton team have it all to do to avoid another defeat. Getting involved in a spat with Klopp will only hinder his team’s chances.