Jurgen Klopp demanded his free-scoring Liverpool defend at their best to contain the “absolutely ridiculous” quality of Manchester United’s attack on Sunday.
Jurgen Klopp said: “If we didn’t defend well at United I don’t know a reason why we would even get on the coach and go there. Because the quality they have offensively is absolutely ridiculous. I really don’t think it’s very likely we will score three goals at United, but we never before a game think more about scoring than we do about defending. So for us it’s 100 per cent clear that to get in the game, to stay in the game and to win the game at United, you have to defend at your absolute highest level. We have to focus on that but not only that as we have to create and play football. It’s important to be incredibly brave because each ball you lose against United is a massive red [flag]. It’s a counter attack which is a red [flag] because of the speed they have and all these kinds of things. So it’s a proper task to play United but we still wanna do it and are looking forward to it. We all know it’s one of the biggest games in the world. It will be a good one.”
Klopp’s side have plundered 36 goals in just a dozen games this term, with Mohamed Salah up to 12 already after his brace in Tuesday’s 3-2 win at Atletico Madrid. Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane have also chipped in with a dozen between them, while Diogo Jota is on three for the campaign as the Reds roll into Old Trafford on the back of a 21-game unbeaten run. Klopp has seen his team score 14 times away from home in just four Premier League games, but the German has attempted to play down another goal-laden return when they make the trip across the M62 this weekend. And instead, he has called on his players to defend as best they can to nullify the threat of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s wealth of options up top.
