COMMENT: Take your seat. Lean back. And enjoy the show. This ain't no short time-filler. Pep v Klopp. This'll be an epic - and will run until June.

The season hasn't kicked off, yet both of 'em were getting their shots in early. Jurgen Klopp firing "fantasy land" spending accusations at Manchester City, which were quickly swatted back by Pep Guardiola as he taunted Liverpool and their manager with his second Premier League winner's medal.

This was no one-off. No chance. What we saw last week was simply a precursor of what lies ahead this coming season. The only thing stopping City from a third consecutive League title is Liverpool. And the one thing that can prevent the Reds from ending their "29 year" drought, as Guardiola put it, is City. The rest are simply making up the numbers. A support cast. One point separated the two clubs last season. The difference being the details. The one percenters. And neither manager, as we saw last week, are willing to give the other an inch.

Leading into the Community Shield, Klopp quickly had the ball rolling. The Reds manager defending their lack of summer spending with a swipe at Sunday's opponents, "We are not in this fantasy land where you just get whatever you want.

“You cannot do it constantly."

And he could've left it there. But without prompting, Klopp fingered those big spenders he feels Liverpool are being unfairly compared with. And significantly, the usual suspects, Bayern Munich, Manchester United and Chelsea, didn't warrant a mention.

“It looks like there are four clubs in the world who can do it constantly," Klopp continued, "Madrid, Barcelona, City and PSG. Whatever they need, they do."

Thump! It made a decent headline and sparked a little banter. But City could've shrugged it off. Left it there. After all, in today's hyperdrive news cycle, Klopp's dig - and it's significance - would've quickly been washed away. But City weren't having it and out from behind his desk, for a rare public utterance, the club's chief operating officer, Omar Berrada, made an appearance.

“I don't know why they would make these comments," declared Berrada, a little passively, a little aggressively. "I don't know why they would look at other clubs.

“It's not frustration or anger, we just find it curious that they'd be highlighting our spending."

And then, a day later, came Pep. And suddenly curious became bothersome. The City manager drawing a line in the sand, bristling at the accusation of being a chequebook built team.

"It bothers me," he said. “Of course it bothers me, because it's not true that we spend £200m in every transfer market. That is not true. So it's Liverpool, you'll never walk alone, so it's not a small team. It's Liverpool.

“So of course I don't like it, because it's not true."

Again, like Berrada before him, Guardiola didn't have to take this angle. Klopp's words, whether premeditated or throwaway, would've quickly been lost and forgotten. But Guardiola, clearly, wasn't having it. As we've said, for the Catalan, the small details matter.

There's respect between the two managers. As there is between the two boards. But there's also more than a competitive rivalry, indeed it's a resentment. At Liverpool, as Klopp says, it's the spending of City. The resources they boast to cover the transfer errors they make. "Whatever they need, they do," as the German stated.

At the Etihad, especially inside the club's brains trust, the animus stems from the popularity of Liverpool. Of Klopp and his players. And the perceived lack of recognition Guardiola and his squad have received as they've dominated English football these past two years.

Again, the Catalan drew a line in the sand on Friday. This time between the populist perception of Liverpool and what the real football people think of his City team.

“Of course, it is about opinions – and of course we accept it if our players don't deserve to win," said Guardiola, tackling the lack of recognition his players get at the major awards.

“Maybe we have to win five titles - or maybe Bernardo has to win six. Or maybe we have to get 250 points next season – but we are going to try."

And then, almost in the same breath, Guardiola made clear how those whom really understand the game regard City's achievements when compared with Liverpool.

“It's incredibly good what they did in the Champions League, but we were better in the league.

“What we did has never been achieved before. It was awesome – and I think my colleagues and football players worldwide know how difficult it is."

Whack! Having a pop at the spending of your nearest rival is one thing, but branding an opponent's achievement as something genuinely disregarded by their peers is something else. Indeed, Guardiola would go further, reducing Liverpool's Champions League triumph to a "risky casino gamble".

"Why am I going to wait until February for seven games and put everything on black?" declared Guardiola, virtually dismissing Klopp's achievement as a simple game of roulette.

And as we said, the season hasn't even started!

Sunday at Wembley gives both managers - and both teams - the chance to lay down an early marker. It'll be a Community Shield in name only. For those on the touchline it's a Super Cup. As Guardiola says, this is a trophy to be won. And it's one opinion shared by Klopp. "It's a final," says the Reds boss, "don't call it a curtain raiser."

Those details. Those one percenters. They're all going to matter this season. Just sit back and enjoy the show.