Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
KING KENNY EXCLUSIVE
Expect Mourinho to park the bus again in Saturday’s Anfield showdown
JOSE MOURINHO has beaten Liverpool more times than any other club – but Kenny Dalglish fears he won’t park just the bus at Anfield on Saturday.
The Kop legend expects Mourinho to blockade Merseyside with every double-decker from the depot and bring one of football’s most bitter rivalries to spoiling point again.
For all the renewed swagger at Old Trafford, Dalglish has warned Mourinho that Manchester United have not been tested against any of their likely top with six rivals yet. And King Kenny reckons United’s licence to thrill – they have scored four goals no fewer than six times already this season – will be revoked this weekend.
Some Liverpool fans will never forgive Mourinho for executing the arch-spoiler’s blueprint when Chelsea’s 2-0 win at Anfield denied Brendan Rodgers’ side the title in 2014.
The rest were bored witless when United’s tactics put the ‘zz’ into muzzling on their last visit 12 months ago, but in a results business Mourinho boasts 11 wins and eight draws from his 25 meetings with Liverpool.
Dalglish told Mirror Sport: “Three years ago, Jose brought Chelsea up to do a job and they did it really well, so for me there’s no blame apportioned to him because Liverpool missed out on the title. He was very professional, utterly clinical, and you cannot criticise him for that.
“He came back to Anfield Manchester United last year with a similar philosophy, but there are no rules which say you can’t play defensively and they almost snatched it at the end when Ibrahimovic had that chance.
“And when he comes back for this game, I’m sure he will be cautious again because this is United’s first game against one of the so-called top six. These are the games that will decide who lifts the trophy in May.
“Mourinho has a knack of knowing how to win games, and if he thinks his best chance is to shut up shop, he’s entitled to do that – but for us, Jurgen Klopp will be the opposite. He’s not interested in a draw, he only wants a victory.
“That suits everyone at Liverpool – players, fans, himself – because that’s why he was asked to take on the job in the first place. I’m sure the fans are more than happy with what he’s done.”
Two years into his reign on Merseyside, Klopp is still searching for the perfect balance between enterprise
and defensive stability. Some critics have likened the current Liverpool team to a Ferrari under the bonnet and a milk float in the boot – but Dalglish, who won the Double as playermanager at Anfield in 1986, is not inclined to be over-critical of the German.
He said: “Would I swap Jurgen’s front three for United’s strikers or any other set of forwards in the Premier League? For me, it’s not a question of who’s best.
“Going forward, Liverpool have been flying this year, while for United the boy Rashford looks a top talent and Romelu Lukaku has settled in remarkably well. Both teams
have got something positive going for them up front, but I don’t go along with some comments about the keeper or back four.
“I think Simon Mignolet has been harshly criticised for what he’s done at Liverpool.
“Why does nobody go back to the penalty he saved at Arsenal on the first day of last season? He made the difference between one point and three – which ultimately got us in the Champions League.
“Whether he is going to be at the club for the long term or short term, I would not be uncomfortable with him as my keeper.
“If you are committed to attack, attack, attack, it’s the
guys at the back who will invariably suffer. Jurgen was appointed because of what he’d done at Borussia Dortmund, and the way he wants to play suited Liverpool’s DNA.
“Why does that change all of a sudden? If you play a more open, expansive game than anybody else, it’s going to put your defenders under pressure but it’s more entertaining.
“If Jurgen would rather win games 3-2 than 1-0, I don’t have a problem, although it’s no good for your ticker so you wonder what it does to him!”