Klopp says being viewed as ‘perfect opponents’ for the faltering Old Trafford club must be a misunderstanding and they’ll make them pay
JURGEN KLOPP has told his Liverpool players they must ignore the “circus” and instead focus on making Manchester United eat their words.
The Anfield boss admits he has been shocked by the intensity of the build-up to one of the world’s most passionate contests, and revealed his suspicion that much of the hype around the game is designed to undermine his side. The answer to that is simple, Klopp said. Their opponents have claimed they see Liverpool as the perfect opponents to help kick-start their season, so they must make that claim look foolish.
“They have said that we are the perfect opponents now,” said the German. “But I don’t think there are a lot of teams who would love to play us at the moment.
“It looks like Man United are the only ones. We have to make sure that is a misunderstanding.
“It is a circus, all this fuss, but in the end we have to play football, and that is all I am concerned about.
“We will see who wants it more. They are desperate to change their situation; we have to make sure that, if they want to change it, they have to start a week later.”
Klopp admitted to breaking his first football rule of never taking notice of newspaper coverage of his team.
“This week I had a little look at the papers. The talk is so loud,” he said. “I ex- pected it but I was stillTsHurE- prised it was that massive.”
Klopp openly wondered if some of the more extreme tend well beyond United. hype was designed to The Kop boss ignored the inspire United, particularly vicious nature of the rivalry some cheeky ‘combined XI’ between the two sides suggestions which picked and, on the fourth anniversary every single member of the of his first game Liverpool team. in charge of the Reds,
“People are trying to said a run of “what feels create it as a banana skin. like 25 games between They are trying to make it as now and Christmas” is we’re THE team and United the priority. are nobodies,” he said. Asked about his
“So that is the situation comments when he that everyone creates – that arrived on Merseyside we are so good and they that he needed a trophy have so many problems, to still be there after his they cannot play football first four years, he joked: “I any more, all this stuff. think if we’d have lost the
“I see all these things and Champions League final I it looks like they want to still would be here. That help Man Utd. All these was my first misjudgement. articles look like they have “But I don’t know what been written by Man Utd will happen in the next four supporters. A banana skin, years. If I am sitting here in a joke. I saw the combined four years I am pretty sure team. Would I have found it we would have won insulting if it were us? Yes.” something. But that time
Klopp joked about the when I said it, I didn’t think mind-games Premier about it.
League sides play with their “We just have to be ready line-ups, predicting that big for Sunday, then for names David de Gea, Paul Wednesday, then for Sunday Pogba, and Anthony Martial against Tottenham, will all play for United. then for Arsenal, then for
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