Sports Burst - Jurgen Klopp: Better Than Messi And Ronaldo
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp becomes greatest thing in football ahead of another chapter in pulsating Premier League chase
by Tim Stannard
Jurgen Klopp engages in own Game of Thrones with Man City after expressing jealously for Mo Salah
Does everyone basically want to either be or be with Jurgen Klopp? Hands up. That's a lot of hands.
On Thursday, Sports Burst was musing to beIN SPORTS' own Terri Leigh that nobody could be as cheerful as the Liverpool manager without possessing the darkest of souls or being utterly unaware of the general misery of our existence. She was not buying it.
And then Klopp's press conference ahead of Friday's Premier League clash against Huddersfield dropped through. In it, Klopp was joking about Manchester United failing to beat Manchester City on Wednesday and feeling jealous that Mohamed Salah had gone to the States for a TIME magazine event and met "Mrs Targaryen" from Game of Thrones.
"We always say football is not the most important thing in the world," noted Klopp. That seems to be the jocular attitude the German is taking to the ding-dong title race with Manchester City.
Enjoying it while it lasts, allowing the hand of fate to cast its die of truth and being proud of what his team has achieved to date. "Only one will be there at the end. It's like Highlander."
This special attitude from a special man allows Klopp to enter, for just a single day, the very special Team Messi v Team Ronaldo and come out as the clear, adorable winner. Another honor for a gentleman whose team could be at the top of the Premier League again on Friday.
Friday's bumper addition of the Sports Burst live show with Gabrielle Amado and Kay Murray will look ahead to the weekend to come. Just head to our beIN SPORTS Facebook page at 12PM ET / 9AM PT.
Solskjaer defends David de Gea and backs Pogba for United stay
Another happy-go-lucky Premier League coach has been speaking on Friday.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who has already landed himself in a bit of a crisis after a run of seven defeats in nine to leave the team struggling in the top-four race.
However, Paul Pogba was at the top of the agenda for the Norwegian coach with rumors of a summer move to Real Madrid, which in reality might not be the worst idea for Manchester United going forward.
"You can't guarantee (he will stay) but I think he will be (here)," opined Solskjaer. Ole would not here any talk of dropping the increasingly error-prone David De Gea either after our Gary Bailey floated the idea - "I trust David."
That is more than likely to be a hot topic of conversation for the Locker Room as Mr Bailey gets put under the spotlight for his comments as Kay Murray and the gang also look ahead to Barcelona's potentially clinching weekend in La Liga. It all gets underway on beIN SPORTS at 7:30PM ET / 4:30PM PT.
No early wrap for Turkey in title race tussle
Right. Onto Friday's affairs, where, as usual beIN SPORTS has you covered. There is a titanic tussle at the top in Turkey with Istanbul Basaksehir under pressure in the title race from Galatasaray.
A dip in form for the league leaders has allowed its rivals to close the gap to just three points. However, that could extend to six should Istanbul prevail against Goztepe in a game that is live on beIN SPORTS at 1:30PM ET / 10:30AM PT.
That match will be immediately followed by a trip to France where Lyon will be looking to put a grappling hook into third in the table - a Champions League spot - with a trip to Bordeaux, a team that has not had a vintage year, but has the bottle to uncork a robust performance if need be.
The best action of the day and everything you could possibly need to know will be on the XTRA with Jeremy St. Louis at 7PM ET / 4PM PT.