But Jose is much too smart to go toe-to-toe with Klopp and Co
Jose isn’t daft enough to go toe-to-toe with Klopp & Co
IT’S Champions League week so how can Liverpool and Manchester United be playing each other on the Monday night?It doesn’t seem right but that’s exactly where these two great clubs find themselves right now.
It is not very often that the live Monday night match has the potential to be a real humdinger between two genuine giants and possible title contenders.
Yet this fixture is tailor-made for an organised, Jose Mourinho defensive masterclass which will stifle Liverpool and kill the game.
It would be madness for Manchester United to go toe-to-toe with Liverpool, and I don’t think Mourinho will be daft enough to go down that route.
Liverpool do need to improve defensively. They have yet to keep a clean sheet in the Premier League this season.
But Mourinho will probably set up for a spoiling 0-0 performance aimed at frustrating Liverpool and Jurgen Klopp because he knows it is the only way his side can get a result there at the moment.
With the start Liverpool have made to the season, and the money spent by Manchester United, they both have to be considered possible title winners.
In their last game before the internationals, Liverpool didn’t play well in the first half against Swansea.
They looked like a side who had received a rollicking at half-time. And Klopp clearly had words. If they had a blip, it only lasted for 45 minutes at Swansea, and their second-half comeback was impressive.
They completely over-ran Swansea in the second-half, even when they lost Adam Lallana, which was a big loss to Liverpool, even with Daniel Sturridge as his replacement.
You would expect Liverpool’s match-winner to be one of their more technically gifted players.
Of course the Brazilian pair Philippe Coutinho or Roberto Firmino come to mind, Sadio Mane has added a real wow factor to Liverpool, which a Klopp side needs, while Lallana has been excellent.
BUT the two best players for Liverpool against Swansea were Nathaniel Clyne and James Milner. Clyne was actually named man of the match, and you can see why Klopp has given him the nickname of ‘The Machine.’ But he says Milner is the perfect professional, and I am certain he is the kind of player the younger ones, like Clyne, look up to.
Every manager understands James Milner and I can imagine that every single one of his team-mates appreciates what he does and says.
There are a number of players who are still developing at Liverpool and they will look up to Milner because he is a real leader and consummate professional.
He is playing at left back at the moment, and has moved into yet another position seamlessly.
He moved to Liverpool because he wanted to play in central midfield and because he says that is his best position. But if he is unhappy about moving to left-back slot, you would not know it from his demeanour or from his performances.
Milner produces seven to eight out of ten, consistent performances in every game and although there may be a lot of quality, technical players in the Liverpool team, Milner takes the penalties, which demonstrates the trust of his manager and teammates.
Manchester United’s star man so far this season has undoubtedly been Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
He may not have scored in the last two games but I watched him live against Leicester City and Stoke City, and he was brilliant. Robert Huth, Wes Morgan, Ryan Shawcross and Stoke new boy Bruno Martins Indi, couldn’t handle him.
HE IS so good off the ball, because he can drop deep or play off the shoulder of the centre-halves. Although he has not played against the quickest Premier league defenders yet, he still has tremendous pace and power, and his physique is a throwback to the old centre forward.
If you look at Harry Kane, he is a similar height, but physically they are chalk and cheese. Ibrahimovic is about two stone heavier than Kane, and it is all muscle.
When he came up against John Stones in Wayne Rooney’s testimonial in pre-season, it really was like man against boy and showed how physically imposing the Swedish striker is.
Because of his physicality he is a daunting prospect and you could see that Huth and Morgan, who bossed so many games for Leicester last season, were unsettled by him.
On top of that, he undoubtedly has an aura about him and he clearly enjoys playing against the centre-half who is prepared to go head-to-head with him.
Meanwhile, we’re still waiting to see Paul Pogba live up to his fee.
He played well against Leicester but was poor against Stoke and there were a few moments in that game which were just sloppy and so often his first touch lets him down.
He comes into this game tomorrow night, on the back of a good performance against Holland, scoring France’s winning goal.
He has not been good enough so far and it is not asking too much for a €100 million player to play consistently well, surely.
With a Messi, Bale or Ronaldo, you feel they are capable of producing something in an instant and can always get a goal for their team, even if they are having a quiet game.
You don’t get that feeling with Pogba yet and although he might do something elaborate or brilliant in midfield, I don’t really see him scoring or creating a goal from nothing.