WE WILL NOT KICK NEYMAR
JURGEN KLOPP says Liverpool will not try to bully Neymar out of their Champions League opener against Paris Saint-Germain at Anfield tonight.
But the Reds manager says keeping the Brazil striker quiet is virtually impossible. “Neymar was rested at the weekend so will be 100 per cent fresh, not injured like he was at the World Cup, so we will see the full Neymar football package,” said Klopp. “We will have to cope with that. But we also want to play football and we want to win the ball.
“We don’t try to ‘act’ in these kind of things, we try to avoid passes to him and try to avoid him winning challenges, which is a big job. “But I’m not sure if it is 100 per cent possible to avoid his qualities – I’m pretty sure it is not – he is a fantastic footballer and an outstanding player.”
Neymar, above, was the second most fouled player at the summer World Cup in Russia behind Belgium’s Eden Hazard, despite accusations he made the most of any physical contact.
Klopp refused to rise to the bait when asked whether he was guilty, dismissing the accusations ahead of the Group C opener. “I saw a few games at the
World Cup, I know people were talking about that when it looked like he made more of a situation than it was,” he said.
“For me that is a completely normal reaction because players were really going for him and he wants to protect himself. I don’t think he is a person who wants to act, because if you’re like that you cannot play the football he plays.” Reds captain Jordan Henderson conceded Neymar will be a handful but said PSG are far from a one-man team with Kylian Mbappe, Angel Di Maria and Edinson Cavani to worry about as well.
“It’s not just him we have to stop, we have to stop the whole team and it will be difficult – he is just one of many top players in their team,” said Henderson.
“But we’re a good team as well and we can cause them problems. We’ve proved against big teams before we can perform and get the result we need.”
Liverpool are hopeful Brazil striker Roberto Firmino will be fit to lead their line after he suffered an injury to his left eye in Saturday’s victory over Tottenham.
Klopp said: “It is good news but it will be close. It is painful and no one needs that. He will be fine but we don’t know exactly when. There are 30 hours before the game, so we will see.”