Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp was in foul form after last month’s FA Cup quarter-final defeat at Manchester United. The Reds had lost a derby in injury time at the end of extra-time that they really should have won in normal time. Klopp perhaps unsurprisingly took his frustration out on a journalist who had merely pointed out that his players lacked their usual level of relentless intensity.
That was obvious to Klopp too, of course. “That was the first time that I really saw my team struggling,” he admitted afterwards. “But that’s how it is – we have played a lot of football recently.”
Hardly surprising, then, that Klopp joked ahead of Sunday’s return to Old Trafford for a massive Premier League showdown that the big positive as far as he is concerned is that there won’t be any extra-time. Some of his players look tired enough as it is right now.
Thursday’s sluggish showing against Sheffield United certainly did little to quell the concern that injuries coupled with a congested fixture list might be slowly but surely catching up with Liverpool. There is an obvious fear among the fans that fatigue might once again hinder the Reds’ hopes of overcoming a hated rival they have already failed to beat twice this season.
Truth be told, though, there can be no excuses this time around. Even a tiring Liverpool should easily beat a mediocre Manchester United.
