Everton manager Carlo Ancelotti has revealed that Jurgen Klopp beat him in the race to become Liverpool boss in 2015, but admits the club’s owners made the right decision in picking the German.
Ancelotti held talks with the Red Devils’ owners in October, 2015 following Brendan Rodgers’ sacking.
“It was after [I left] Real Madrid, I had a chat with the owner,” Ancelotti said.
“They were looking for a new manager but I think they made a right choice with Jurgen. He is doing fantastic work at Liverpool, so well done.”
Ancelotti is the only coach to beat a side managed by Klopp this season. He guided Napoli to a 2-0 Champions League victory against the European champions in September. His side also beat Liverpool last season and earned a draw at Anfield in November.
However, despite his recent success against them, Ancelotti knows Everton must produce a “perfect” performance if they are to win at Anfield for the first time since 1999 when they play in the FA Cup third round on Sunday.
“Jurgen is my friend, we have a good relationship and I had the luck to beat him last season as well, although they won the competition,” Ancelotti said.
“At Napoli it was the same, we were able to do a great performance because to beat Liverpool you have to do a great performance, a normal performance is not enough.
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“Everything has to be perfect. You must work hard, sacrifice, show intensity – to beat them your game has to be complete.
“You cannot defend for 90 minutes and we do not want to defend for 90 minutes. We want to have the possibility to play our football.”
