Mauricio Pochettino doesn't have the best memories of coming up against Liverpool, and the incoming Manchester United boss was left inconsolable after one of his defeats against Jurgen Klopp
ST PAUL, MINNESOTA - OCTOBER 5: Head coach Mauricio Pochettino of the United States speaks with members of the media during a press conference ahead of the international friendly match against Canada at Allianz Field on October 5, 2026 in St Paul, Minnesota. (Photo by Omar Vega/Getty Images)
Mauricio Pochettino looks set to take over at Manchester United(Image: Getty Images)
Incoming Manchester United boss Mauricio Pochettino admitted he found it “difficult to stop crying” after a landmark defeat to Liverpool.
Pochettino looks set to return to the Premier League, with United finally lining up a replacement for Michael Carrick after weeks of speculation over his future. There is still no decision over whether he will be fired, though, after just one win in 10 league games this season.
Nevertheless, United appears to be closing in on Pochettino's appointment, with reports indicating that the former Tottenham and Chelsea boss has agreed personal terms to step into the hot seat at Old Trafford.
Although he earned plenty of praise from Jurgen Klopp over the years, Pochettino has not had the best of records against Liverpool. He has won just three of the 19 games he has managed against the Reds, with two of those coming in his first two meetings when he was in charge of Southampton in 2013.
Klopp’s arrival as manager at Anfield proved to be a huge hurdle to the Argentine, especially when it came to the Champions League final in 2019. Liverpool, of course, won that encounter in Madrid to claim its sixth European crown.
Tottenham had defied the odds to make it that far, having overcome Manchester City in the quarter-finals before coming from behind to beat Ajax in a dramatic semi-final.
Mauricio Pochettino was beaten by Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool in the 2019 Champions League final
Mauricio Pochettino was beaten by Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool in the 2019 Champions League final(Image: Harold Cunningham - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)
The final quickly slipped from Spurs’ grasp though, with Mohamed Salah scoring from the spot after just two minutes before Divock Origi wrapped things up late on, leaving Pochettino devastated.
"I think it was very difficult to accept the way the game went,” he admitted in 2020. “I was so disappointed afterward. It was difficult to stop crying, to stop feeling bad.
“When you prepare for three weeks with the responsibility and in the way we did, and worked, with all the staff and players, we were very focused.
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"I think we were convinced and I was convinced that the final was going to go our way. That was completely in our minds. But no one is prepared after 30 seconds of the Champions League final to concede like that. The goal changed the whole game, all the emotions. It is difficult to prepare a team for that happening."
Pochettino wouldn’t last much longer at Spurs after the final, and the Argentine has admitted he felt the defeat at the hands of Klopp and Liverpool signaled the beginning of the end of his time in north London.
"It was a massive achievement, and you can use the example of Liverpool after they lost to Real Madrid the season before, that was a massive motivation and inspiration to be back in the future," he said.
Harry Kane and Mauricio Pochettino react after Tottenham's defeat to Liverpool in the 2019 Champions League final
Harry Kane and Mauricio Pochettino react after Tottenham's defeat to Liverpool in the 2019 Champions League final(Image: Getty Images)
"But I knew after five years and with the way we were working, all the things that happened, it was going to be difficult to change a little bit in our minds and to stay open to design another plan, or a strategy to build again, a different chapter. A different project was going to be difficult to maintain, to keep improving.
"I said to Daniel [Levy] that we finished in the way that no one wanted but the end, because of our commitment, our emotion and our feeling in football, it needed to happen. If not, our relationship would have continued forever, and maybe that’s no good for the club or for us."
Should he be appointed by United as expected, Pochettino could come up against Liverpool once again in his first game in charge, with the two sides set to meet at Anfield in their first game back from the international break on November 22.