Jurgen Klopp has wished Carlo Ancelotti all the best as Everton’s new manager.
Ancelotti replaced Marco Silva at Goodison Park on a four-and-a-half year deal just weeks after a tumultuous spell in charge of Napoli came to an end.
The Italian’s impressive record against Liverpool offers Blues fans fresh hope ahead of next month’s FA Cup third round clash between the sides at Anfield.
He has lost just one of his last six meetings against the Reds and racked up his most recent win in September’s Champions League encounter with Napoli.
Although Klopp is not yet focusing on the Merseyside derby, he passed on well wishes to the three-time European Cup winner on his appointment.
He said: “I couldn’t be further away from [thinking about] the FA Cup in the moment. There are three very important games in between.
“I get it that Carlo yesterday [at his press conference] had to speak already about it and about his record and stuff like this, all good.
“I like him a lot… I liked him a lot! It’s difficult in this business to have friends.
“With Dave Wagner I was friends before we became managers, all the others we meet from time to time.
“But with him the relationship was always kind of special, so now we meet a couple of times during the year, more often than we are probably used to.
“I would love to say I wish him luck! No, it’s Christmas, come on, I wish him luck.”