Fouling will never be my style, says Klopp
Jurgen Klopp is adamant Liverpool’s discipline will not desert them as they attempt to keep their cool in the cauldron of Old Trafford this afternoon.
Klopp’s side travel to Manchester United seeking to regain the Premier League leadership in a fixture whose recent history is littered with controversy.
Two of former captain Steven Gerrard’s eight career red cards came against United, including a dismissal in March 2015 for a stamp on Ander Herrera after just 38 seconds on the pitch as a substitute.
In addition, Luis Suarez was banned for eight matches after being found guilty of racially abusing United fullback Patrice Evra during a match at Anfield in October 2011.
The Uruguay striker was then criticised heavily when he refused to shake the Frenchman’s hand before the return fixture at Old Trafford four months later.
Klopp, though, points to his team’s disciplinary record as a sign that they can keep their heads under pressure. They have received just 24 yellow cards in the Premier League this season, fewer than anyone else.
“Go back over the past 10 years,” he said. “I have been here for three years and four months now, I was at Dortmund for seven years. My teams were always top three in the fair play. I’m 100 per cent sure that somebody will now take that as a negative and say, ‘Yeah, it’s because you don’t make the fouls at the right moments,’ and stuff like that.
“We are really ready to dig in, to step in to each situation and challenge, but not to start fouling. We don’t do that. I never understood the game like this.
“I heard already from other people, ‘That’s not smart.’ But I cannot change my personality. The boys don’t change. They don’t try to go into a situation by being overly aggressive.
“It doesn’t mean it can’t happen in a game like this against United, but it’s not part of the plan. Being aggressive, yes, but legally aggressive.”
Liverpool’s last win at Old Trafford was in March 2014, when Gerrard scored two penalties and missed a third in a 3-0 win, in which United defender Nemanja Vidic was sent off.
A win today would take Klopp’s side three points clear of Manchester City at the top of the Premier League with 11 matches left.
While that would be a significant step in Liverpool’s pursuit of a first English league title since 1990, Klopp is showing no sign of getting carried away, even when it is put to him that a victory at Old Trafford would be hugely significant.
He said: “What do you mean by significant? More than three points? No. We have to play Tottenham. We have to play Chelsea. We play so many teams. We play Everton and Watford in the next week.
“So Watford at home, they have been unbelievable this year on counterattacks. If they could be 100 per cent consistent, they would be in the top six.
“Then you have Everton, and we all know for them it’s a kind of World Cup final. We go there away, after we beat them here [at Anfield in December] with the goal in the 96th minute. So with all that stuff, how can we celebrate one win?”