Seamus Coleman (Everton)
Seamus Coleman (Everton)
Seamus Coleman came up against Pep Guardiola's Manchester City and Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool during their peak years and the former Everton captain has explained why one attack was tougher than the other.
The Irishman spent 17 years on Merseyside and became a fan favourite due to his hardworking mentality and performances. He faced some of the very best attackers in Premier League history while at Goodison Park, including Erling Haaland and Mohamed Salah.
During the late 2010s and early 2020s, Guardiola and Klopp battled for the throne of English football. They were helped by two of the most formidable frontlines to grace the top-flight and Coleman experienced their dominance first-hand.
Coleman on Facing Guardiola's Man City and Klopp's Liverpool
Seamus Coleman
Seamus Coleman
Coleman made just over 370 appearances in the Premier League with Everton and 18 of those were Merseyside derbies. He also encountered City on 22 occasions and they are the club he has played against the most during his career.
There aren't many better players to turn to for an insight into Guardiola and Klopp's teams during the modern era than Coleman. Gary Neville made the most of the Irishman's appearance on The Overlap to find out which of both side's attacks gave him the toughest time.
Neville asked what was tougher as a full-back and Coleman responded: "I'm not saying this because of bias against Liverpool, I didn't like playing against City's team. I felt like with Liverpool, listen, I had some good games against this lad and some bad, but I knew I kind of had Mane and Robertson, as daunting as that is."
Sadio Mane and Andy Robertson were Klopp's two starters on the left side of Liverpool's team throughout the German's reign at Anfield. They were crucial for the Reds, linking up well to push their team forward while also doing their jobs defensively.
Coleman though, felt handling City poised a tougher task: "But with City, between you, your centre-half, and your right-winger, you didn't know who should go where, who should go tight, if he goes tight and you don't tuck in, they've played through you. So I felt with Liverpool, they were powerful, they were fit, but I felt like you knew who you were dealing with."
Unlike Robertson and Mane at Liverpool, where Klopp trusted them as starters for the majority of his tenure, Guardiola tended to make changes at both left-back and on the left wing. Josko Gvardiol, Nathan Ake, Joao Cancelo, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Fabian Delph were among the players he used in the full-back position.
Guardiola opted for the likes of Jack Grealish, Phil Foden, Leroy Sane, Raheem Sterling and Jeremy Doku on the left-wing. But, for Coleman, it wasn't just the unpredictability surrounding whom he may come up against in clashes with City.
Coleman admitted that tactically they were hard to control and that's exactly why Guardiola is viewed as a tactical genius. Four of the five left-backs he used most were naturally centre-backs but his team's shape had shifted each game and players moved into different positions.
How Coleman Fared Against Man City and Liverpool
Everton's Seamus Coleman, Liverpool's Sadio Mane
Everton's Seamus Coleman, Liverpool's Sadio Mane
Coleman's stance on City is reflected in the lack of success his team achieved during matches against them. In the 25 games he played against Guardiola's side, he won just six and suffered defeat on 15 occasions.
Liverpool fans will be quick to point out that the Irish defender fared even worse in Merseyside derbies during his time as a Toffee. In 20 meetings against his former club's arch-rivals, he lost nine times while only winning two of those games.
Guardiola and Klopp went about their business in different ways but both of their philosophies achieved huge success with their respective clubs. Their tactical brilliance is exactly why players such as Coleman reflect on facing their teams by acknowledging how difficult they found it.