Jurgen Klopp jokes that Pep Guardiola was at Anfield to 'watch good football'

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola, center, and Sunderland Moyes in attendance at Liverpool's Tuesday match against Stoke City.

Jurgen Klopp jokingly suggested that Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola attended his Liverpool team's 4-1 win against Stoke City to "watch good football."

Asked in his post-match news conference about the Spaniard's attendance, Klopp said: "I respect them a lot, but I have not been to City's stadium this season or last to watch games. Maybe they want to watch good football."

Stoke  were the better side early on and went ahead through Jon Walters, but Adam Lallana and Roberto Firmino scored before half-time before Giannelli Imbula's own goal and Daniel Sturridge's first in the Premier League this season 56 seconds after coming off the bench wrapped things up.

The win puts Liverpool in second place in the Premier League -- one point ahead of their Saturday rivals Man City -- while both teams try to make up ground on table-toppers Chelsea during the busy festive season.

Klopp added: "We are already looking forward [to Man City]. It's a difficult game for both teams, but an exciting one. The best news for us is that it's at Anfield.

"They're an outstanding side, we are not too bad. It'll be a nice game.

"Whatever I say tonight, we cannot win it tonight. But maybe I could say a few things that make it more difficult for us. It's probably best I shut my mouth.''

Earlier in December, Klopp took his Liverpool side to watch Barcelona in action against Borussia Monchengladbach in Champions League group play.

Liverpool to allow Lucas Leiva to join Inter Milan in January - sources

Liverpool will not stand in the way of Inter Milan's interest in Lucas Leiva due to the Brazilian's loyal service to the club and the fact Joe Gomez is considered to be ready for the second half of the season, a source has told ESPN FC.

Lucas, 29, is being eyed up by the Serie A side, whose interest "could take a couple of forms" in regards to a loan move or a permanent deal, according to a source.

Liverpool's position on letting Lucas leave will be influenced by manager Jurgen Klopp seeing young defender Gomez as the "real deal" and fully fit after recently recovering from a 13-month layoff.

The 19-year-old has been building up his match fitness with Liverpool's under-23s side of late, and Klopp believes he will be ready for first-team action in the second half of the campaign.

A source said that Liverpool will look kindly on Inter's approach for Lucas due to the service he has given the Merseyside outfit since his arrival from Gremio in July 2007 and the opportunity presented to the player, given his age and the Italian side's standing in European football.

Lucas -- a defensive midfielder by trade -- turned down a big-money move to Turkey this summer as the Reds needed him to cover in the heart of the defence, while Gomez was still on the road to recovery.

Gomez, who joined Liverpool summer in the 2015 from Charlton Athletic, began his career at Anfield as a left-back, but is now considered to be a centre-half by Klopp and the rest of Liverpool's coaching staff.

Having already made one sacrifice for Liverpool this term, Liverpool will not stand in Lucas' way and all the indications point towards a deal being struck to benefit all parties.

Lucas is currently Liverpool's longest-serving player but has been limited to just six starts in all competitions this season.

Claudio Ranieri, Zinedine Zidane among nominees for FIFA coach award

Leicester City's Claudio Ranieri, Portugal's Fernando Santos and Real Madrid's Zinedine Zidane are set to be among the frontrunners for the Best FIFA Men's Coach 2016 award after being named on a 10-man shortlist.

Barcelona's Luis Enrique, Atletico Madrid's Diego Simeone, Liverpool's Jurgen Klopp, Tottenham's Mauricio Pochettino and former Bayern Munich boss Pep Guardiola, now with Manchester City, are also nominated.

Wales coach Chris Coleman is also a contender after leading the nation to the semifinals at Euro 2016, while France boss Didier Deschamps, who led the host nation to the final, completes the shortlist.

However, Santos will be a strong contender after Portugal won the European Championship for the first time in their history, while Zidane led Real Madrid to Champions League glory after taking over from Rafa Benitez in January.

Ranieri, though, defied odds of 5,000-1 to lead Leicester to the Premier League title last season and has overseen a strong start to the club's first ever Champions League campaign this season.

FIFA recently announced that the will be based on the votes of captains and head coaches of national teams around the globe and an online public ballot with football fans and submissions from a selected group of over 200 media representatives.

Best FIFA Men's Coach 2016

Chris Coleman (Wales/Welsh national team), Didier Deschamps (France/French national team), Pep Guardiola (Spain/FC Bayern Munich/Manchester City), Jurgen Klopp (Germany/Liverpool), Luis Enrique (Spain/FC Barcelona), Mauricio Pochettino (Argentina/Tottenham Hotspur), Claudio Ranieri (Italy/Leicester City), Fernando Santos (Portugal/Portuguese national team), Diego Pablo Simeone (Argentina/Atletico Madrid), Zinedine Zidane (France/Real Madrid).

Jurgen Klopp responds to Sir Alex Ferguson's endorsement

Jurgen Klopp has welcomed Sir Alex Ferguson's endorsement but joked he is in no position to return the compliment.

Ferguson admitted a year ago he was concerned by Klopp's arrival at Liverpool, the club he famously succeeded in "knocking off their perch" during his 26 years at Manchester United.

And the Scot this week said Klopp's impact at Anfield means the Reds are genuine contenders for a 19th English title and a first since 1990.

Asked for his reaction to such praise from one of Liverpool's most bitter rivals Klopp, whose side go into the weekend level on points with leaders Manchester City, said: "Is it allowed for me to say I like Alex Ferguson?

"I knew him before and he's a really nice person. He did what he had to do at Manchester and that automatically means it's not good for Liverpool.

"When he has to say something positive about Liverpool, it's better than if he would say something negative so it's all good. But it doesn't mean a lot. It doesn't disturb us or help us."

Ferguson claims Klopp has restored the club's "identity" and "enthusiasm", and the German said: "Maybe we had to change the minds of fans about the past, but while I don't know too much about enthusiasm I feel there is a positive atmosphere in and around Melwood at moment.

"That's good. It's not cool when you always think about football that you're 20 per cent more upset, you should be feeling better. That's our job to do. Until now it's worked somehow. It's really, really intense even when football isn't the most important thing."

Klopp revealed his own admiration for Crystal Palace ahead of Saturday's trip to Selhurst Park and believes Alan Pardew's side are realistic contenders for next season's Europa League.

He said: "It's a difficult place to play, small, atmosphere. We are looking forward to it. We have to prove we want to stay on track.

"Palace are a good team and very experienced in defence with high-quality offence. They have made good signings in the summer and in my opinion they can aim for Europe. They're a really good team."

One of those summer signings was Christian Benteke, signed from Liverpool after failing to convince Klopp he was worth a regular first-team place.

"Every player needs the space to develop and show things," the Reds boss said. "The move made sense. Palace bought the player.

"In the last year he always showed his qualities, especially good at heading. We had to make decisions. I'm always honest. My door is always open. The agreement we have is work hard."

James Milner is a doubt for the Palace game with a knock, while young defender Joe Gomez will not be back before the international break.

Daniel Sturridge made a case to start with both goals against Tottenham in the EFL Cup, and Klopp said: "I wasn't surprised by his performance. My selection isn't more difficult than before the game."