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| Jurgen Klopp put Jose Mourinho under pressure the last time they faced each other |
THE last time Jose Mourinho shared a touchline with Jurgen Klopp, the end was truly in sight.
The scene was Borussia Dortmund's Westfalenstadion in April 2013 and Real Madrid were in the process of being pulverised. Robert Lewandowski ran amok, plundering all four goals in a stunning 4-1 success that sent shockwaves throughout Europe.
For a manager whose relationships at the Spanish club had been steady unravelling, it was confirmation he had reached the point of no return.
That result remains Mourinho's heaviest defeat in 130 matches in the competition and Real, though winning the second leg 2-0, could not conjure a miracle. La Decima remained out of reach for one more year.
Just five weeks later Mourinho, as had been mooted throughout that season, was back in charge at Chelsea.
As he prepares to spend time in the company of Klopp once again, Mourinho will hope grim history does not repeat itself. That the German, now in charge of Liverpool, does not prevail and, more to the point, that defeat at Klopp's hands does not hasten another career change.
Mourinho's Chelsea tenure over his two spells is inextricably linked with high-octane battles with Liverpool, yet it has always previously been about the collective. This time it is purely personal. Mourinho has enjoyed being the talk of the football, though this time the unrelenting scrutiny will be wearing thin.
"I have played against him before," said Klopp after registering his first Liverpool win in the Capital One Cup over Bournemouth. "Maybe not in the Premier League, but I am not sure that is the biggest difference in the world.
"Of course we know all about the quality of Chelsea. We know about the situation of Chelsea. All of England is talking about this.
"It is really strange that a team of this quality is in this situation, but we won't make the fault of looking at the table and looking at where they are and how many points they have.
"We know how strong they are. We have to prepare ourselves and we will be prepared for this game. It is the next chance for us to get points."
Klopp, who had beaten and drawn with Mourinho's Real in the Champions League in the season before as well, was not in the mood to reminisce on Dortmund's first-leg display which he described as "pure football" such was its splendour.
What stands out from two-and-a-half-years ago is Mourinho's insistence that he had done all he could to prevent Real's demise, especially in the first leg.
He admitted Dortmund's superiority, while pointing the finger elsewhere to reveal how alliances with his players had fractured.
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| Klopp inflicted a 4-1 defeat on Mourinho when at Real Madrid with Robert Lewandowski scoring four |
"We know everything about them and everything about Lewandowski, but we lost him for three of his goals, which is not good enough," said Mourinho.
"We know about Lewandowski's movement and he deserves great credit for his performance, but we didn't make it as difficult for him as I would like.
"We were ready and prepared, but many of the boys had a bad game and a bad night."
On occasions this term during a period of unprecedented struggle Mourinho has appeared willing to pick a fight with his Chelsea squad, but the mood was different following Tuesday's Capital One Cup defeat to Stoke, when he hailed his players for giving him everything.
Block out the noise created by his run-ins with officialdom and Mourinho's on-field toils are because he has, momentarily, lost his way over the last three months. For context, Sir Alex Ferguson went three seasons (2003-2004, 04-05, 05-06) without winning the Premier League.
Will Mourinho recover? His coaching career says he will, so even allowing for Chelsea's history of acting in haste the prospect of them jettisoning one of the best things that has happened to them rings ridiculous. Football, however, rarely deals in logic.
Back to that semi-final. It was the third time in three seasons Real had faltered at that stage under Mourinho and events forced him to confront his future.
"Whether I stay as coach is not important," he said. "We have recovered some of the lost prestige, but we have not won the competition.
"It will come in the future. I do not know when. If it is with me, OK, and also OK if it is not with me on the bench."
Mourinho knew he was on his way out when he delivered that assessment post-match. And while his public utterances now claim he will stay at Stamford Bridge, privately he will be wondering just what is going to happen.
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