LONDON, Aug. 18 (Xinhua) -- Liverpool coach Jurgen Klopp has mocked the idea that the knee injury suffered by Manchester City winger Kevin de Bruyne makes Liverpool's job of winning the Premier League title easier.
Manchester City confirmed on Friday that the Belgium international, who was their player of the season for the 2017-18 campaign, will be out of action for three months after damaging knee ligaments in training. When asked if the absence of the Belgian would help Liverpool make up ground on the title favorites, Klopp was very critical of anyone who would hold that opinion.
"I love this player, I wanted him desperately when I was at (Borussia) Dortmund and he was at Chelsea, but Jose (Mourinho) didn't give him to me!" he said.
"What a season he (De Bruyne) had, what a World Cup he played. I really feel for him," continued the Liverpool boss, who highlighted that Manchester City have players who can star in De Bruyne's absence.
"They always have options, they brought in Riyad Mahrez, but they can all play in different positions... Bernardo Silva can play a bit deeper, (Phil) Foden can play in positions, (Ilkay) Gundogan can play in positions." Klopp said his team tries to focus on their own achievements first.
"We don't look at the other teams, we really only try to make the best of our situation, and that will hopefully work," said Klopp.
Manchester City kicked off their title defense with a 2-0 win over Arsenal last weekend and entertain Huddersfield Town on Sunday. Liverpool, who began their season with a 4-0 home win against West Ham United, face a difficult away game against Crystal Palace who beat Fulham 2-0 in their first match of the season.
