Jurgen Klopp has lavished praise on Manchester United ahead of this Sunday’s showdown at Anfield.
Liverpool have been one of English football’s dominant sides over the last five years, while Manchester United have endured a decade of turbulence following the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson.
This season, however, Liverpool have struggled to recreate their previous levels of consistency, while United have enjoyed an impressive renaissance under Erik ten Hag – the Red Devils having already won the Carabao Cup, still in the FA Cup and Europa League, and 11 points off the top of the Premier League with a game in hand.
The two old rivals meet in what is set to be an intriguing Anfield encounter on Sunday, and Jurgen Klopp was full of praise for Liverpool’s biggest rivals.
“They have turned into a results machine,” he said at his pre-match press conference. “They are squeezing results out with some really good performances. Top football, and if it is not going so well they still get results.
“That’s why they are there. Everyone knows it, they are fully in a fight to win the league.
“That’s not really important for Sunday because we are there as well when we try to be at our best.”
Marcus Rashford has been in sensational form this season, netting 25 goals and providing nine assists in 39 appearances, recovering from a slump in form that saw him score just five last term, and the Reds boss admitted he is ‘really happy’ to see the 25-year-olds resurgence.
“It’s pretty much impossible to be happy about something positive at Manchester United when you are the Liverpool manager – but I am really happy for Rashford because he had a very difficult last year where he was not performing on the level that he is able to perform,” he said.
“I knew this would change again but sometimes in life we don’t have enough time to change it.
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“Now he is playing incredible. His speed, his technique – it is a mix of everything. How calm he is in front of goal. He scores worldies, he scores the simple ones, he can put his head in. All these kinds of things.
“We have to defend against that collectively. He is not their only world-class player.”
Klopp continued his praise for United’s set-up under Ten Hag, saying they are a team ‘for now’.
“I really like [Bruno] Fernandes. His movement is really smart. I like the way he shows up, all of a sudden he is there.
“Casemiro is also linking up with Fred alongside him. The man-marking way they defend makes it really physical. They also have the counter-attacks and the other winger, whoever that may be – [Jadon] Sancho – and up front, the Dutch fella, is really physical, so it is a good set-up.
“It is obviously not a team built up for the next 20 years because of the players they have signed. It is for now – but NOW they are really good.”
Klopp says he is embracing the ‘challenge’ of facing United amid Liverpool’s ‘not so nice reality’.
“The challenge is what I enjoy most. I have mentioned it plenty of times. There are so many things much more important than football in life, but in and around these football games we all pull ourselves out – for a little bit – of this not so nice reality and dig into this game.
“I really like that – when football is the most important thing for 98 minutes or whatever. I love that.
“The whole world will watch it. I would watch it if I was not here. It’s a big game and I am really looking forward to it.”
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