Jurgen Klopp has warned that his side will need to park the bus against a ‘strong’ Manchester United on Saturday afternoon at Old Trafford.
Liverpool go into the game two points behind second placed United, knowing three points would see them leapfrog their most bitter rivals.
Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Klopp was asked if he expected Jose Mourinho’s side to ‘Park the bus’ against his free flowing side, but the German warned that his side must be cautious, and expected his side to do the same when needed:
“I have absolutely no problem with defending. I know what the situation is at the minute with what people are saying.
“They (Man Utd) play a specific kind of football, we play a specific kind of football, and now everybody makes a big thing of it but its all about winning, and there are different ways obviously to win football games.
“This United team has a specific way of playing football, thats all. If we have to defend there, then we have to defend there with all we have, and not gambling and thinking ‘we are flying,’ and playing this-and-that against Man United. Nobody flies!
“They are too strong! Physically too strong, technically too strong, and thats the truth.
“Its not a battle of systems or philosophies. It’s two very good football teams facing each other, and when United will attack, I hope all of my players are involved in defending.
“If somebody says then that we are parking the bus in that moment, then we park the bus, I have no problem with that.”
Despite saying he wants his team to defend as a unit, he did allude to wanting to play his usual brand of attacking football:
“Over 90, 95, 97 minutes, we want to bring our football on the pitch as well and we know that is difficult to cope with as well.
“I don’t think that there will be a lot of space in a lot of moments, I think it will be a big fight, how derbies are, but hopefully with a positive result for us.”
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