Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp has demanded his side to start dealing with the pressure of facing rivals Manchester United, having only picked up two wins from this fixture in their last 10 attempts across all competitions.
The Premier League champions-elect could only draw in the reverse fixture earlier this season - the only time they've dropped points in 2019/20 - extending a run of disappointing results and performances against Manchester United during Klopp's tenure.
The Reds host Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side on Sunday, and Klopp has acknowledged that his Liverpool side struggle to deal with the weight of expectation on their shoulders whenever they face United.
"We didn’t play how well we wanted to play [at Old Trafford]," Klopp said, quoted by the Liverpool Echo. "We will learn how we want to play. Against Everton, we struggled away as well. Tight games, stuff like this, but obviously when you win, it’s okay. We always build it up as ‘Liverpool v United’ and you have to learn to deal with that situation.
"In the good old times, you saw it was a special fixture because everyone flew at each other and they kicked each other off the pitch. I don’t want to see that. If anyone asks us for that, no chance.
"We want to win the game, we don’t want to win one little battle here or there. We understand being aggressive in a completely different way to our grandfathers. If we hurt someone, it’s ourselves and not the other one. You have to find solutions on the pitch and for that, you need a clear mindset and an outstanding atmosphere.
"How we do it at Manchester, we can think next year. Now we only need to think about how we do it here and in the last game we won. It was a pretty important one for us and a decisive one for them, so let’s try to repeat that."
For more from Ben Carter, follow him on Twitter!
Source :
90min
