Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp set for managerial milestone against Chelsea

Saturday’s game will be the German’s 1,000th match as a manager

Jurgen Klopp will mark his 1,000th match as a manager with Liverpool’s home game against Chelsea on Saturday.

The 55-year-old German began at Mainz, where he took charge for the first time on February 28, 2001, just one day after being promoted from the playing staff, and beat MSV Duisburg 1-0 before going on to win six of his first seven games in charge as the club avoided relegation.

After spent seven years at Mainz, whom he got promoted to the top flight, he moved to Borussia Dortmund where he broke Bayern Munich’s Bundesliga stranglehold with back-to-back titles in 2011 and 2012.

He brought up his 500th managerial game with a 5-0 win over Freiburg on September 28, 2013, but eventually left Dortmund two years later.

After a short sabbatical he replaced Brendan Rodgers at Anfield, where he went on to win every major club honour, including a sixth Champions League and a first Premier League title in 30 years, while also leading the Reds to two other Champions League finals and two second-place league finishes, one with a record 97 points.

His Liverpool side have been pipped to the title by Manchester City twice by a point, in 2019 and 2022, but holds the record for winning more competitive games against Pep Guardiola (11) than any other coach.

Klopp’s overall win percentage across his career is 53.9 per cent, with his Liverpool record 60.7 per cent.