‘WE WON’T KICK NEYMAR’
JURGEN KLOPP has told Neymar Liverpool will NOT rough him up tonight.
The Liverpool manager admits the Brazilian is a huge threat when he arrives with Paris Saint-germain in the Champions League at Anfield.
But even though many sides resorted to dishing out some rough stuff in the
World Cup – prompting accusations the striker was a diver cheat –
Klopp defended the Samba star
(right), and explained he won’t be targeted for a kicking.
“He doesn’t have to worry. We don’t go for him, we play football, we will want to win the ball and we won’t try to act in these kinds of ways,” said the Anfield boss.
“We try to avoid passes to him, we try to avoid challenges and all that stuff.
“I am not sure if it’s possible to avoid his quality 100 per cent.
“He got rested at the weekend so he will be 100 per cent fresh for us. Neymar, the football package.
“We still have to cope with that, and that’s what we will try.”
Neymar provoked fury during the World Cup, when he reacted to the attention he inevitably attracts on the pitch by throwing himself around and rolling theatrically on the turf.
It prompted an avalanche of social media memes, but Klopp believes the Brazilian has far too much quality to worry about potential diving.
“I don’t think he is a person who wants to act or stuff like that, because if you are like that then you cannot play football how he plays,” he added.
“I saw a few games at the World Cup, and I know that people were talking about that. It looked like he made a bit more of situations than it was.
“For me, it’s a completely normal reaction. Players are really going for him, that’s the truth, and he wants to protect himself. I understand that as well.
“If an opponent gets a yellow card then he is much closer to a red card, so I see it from that perspective. It’s smart that he saves himself.”