Jurgen Klopp Emphasize the definitive article. “This the We’re going to play against United,” he said. “It’s a pretty big club and it’s always huge when we face them.” Klopp was 48 years old before he got the experience. Liverpool against Manchester United however, his memories of the encounters of the two biggest and most successful clubs in English football date back to his youth in Germany. A match that it feels defines the sport, giving it some of the meaning football needs to offer an escape from the problems of everyday life.
The whole world will watch,” he said. “I’ll watch. Something really went wrong the moment Liverpool v United was no longer a private match. Liverpool v Man Utd, who? That would be really hard, it would be really sad.
“I love football, I love the fuss, at least most of the time and then it’s like ‘Liverpool v United, I want to see it’. It had to be like this, otherwise football would have absolutely no right to exist anymore. Again? Really? And how are they doing?
“People want and need to know what both clubs are doing. So I don’t particularly have a problem with them. It’s a big game and it’s always been a big game in my life; it always was because I was allowed to watch it on TV. Thank God I still have one.”
The question of what each club is doing produced very different answers last season and this is; then Liverpool beat United 5-0, 4-0 to finish 34 points ahead, compete for four trophies and take two wins. Now United are fighting on four fronts and the silverware has already been secured. They are 10 points ahead of Liverpool and have narrowed the gap from 14 last week as they are busy with their cup commitments. “Yes, they’re playing a better season than us so far, but thank God this means absolutely nothing for Sunday’s game,” said Klopp.
Claims that form was irrelevant at such meetings did not always come under scrutiny. Last season’s twin hits were not anomalies but indicative of broader trends, many things Liverpool did right and United wrong. If many were surprised by the return Plum skin Witch arranged, Klopp is not among them. Perhaps Liverpool and United’s clubs are bound to wake themselves from the recession, but that would be to underestimate Klopp’s success in inheriting a club in 10.pearl They became champions of Europe and England for the first time in thirty years.
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Now United is reborn. They’re still more of a financial superpower than Liverpool, but Klopp, albeit on a failed team, saw short-term potential and approach in the players Ten Hag inherited. Ten Hag signatures, his first choice in midfield, while building for the future Christian Eriksen And CasemiroBoth are in their thirties. The Dane will miss the trip to Anfield but it has been a catalyst. Casemiro scored in the Carabao Cup final.
“Obviously it’s not a team built for the next 20 years because the players they’ve signed are really good for now, but for now,” Klopp said. “Surprised? Probably not. Go through the team. How can they not be good? They don’t have a single player you think ‘wow, what’s he doing there’. They’re really experienced, they have quality and a new way of defending. Defensively (it’s) a big difference, “It’s properly people oriented and collect, just quality. It’s a good idea, but super experienced players like Eriksen and Casemiro came in. They’ve been successful all over the world.”
The extra size is that Marcus RashfordIn Klopp’s words, it is in the form of his life. Mancunian has 25 goals this season, the first against Liverpool. He’s been a past scourge for the Merseysiders with six goals against them. Klopp has I’ve been a long time Rashford fan, both as an actor and as a person..
“When I’m Liverpool manager it’s hard, I would say impossible, to be happy for something positive at Manchester United. I’ve been here for seven and a half years, not because I watched them and hoped they would win,” he said. “But I’m really happy for Rashford. He had a rough year last year and I knew that was going to change again and he’s playing amazing now. Speed, technique, a mix of everything. How calm he is in front of the goal, he scores world goals, he scores simple goals, he sticks his head out there.”
Mohammed Salah has been often the actor the game. Now Klopp and Liverpool have to make sure it’s not Rashford.