Jurgen Klopp admits his Liverpool side were not brave enough against rivals Manchester United
JURGEN KLOPP admits his side lacked bravery on Monday night as fierce rivals Manchester United held his side to a 0-0 draw at Anfield.
In his post match interview the German expressed ‘mixed emotions’ of the ‘hectic’ Premier League tie, alluring to Jose Mourinho’s tactics to frustrate the Merseyside outfit with his man to man marking tactics.
Klopp said: “I’m not happy with the game. We didn’t play as well as we could have played. We started OK and immediately with their defending we weren’t brave anymore, we didn’t wait for the right pass.
“They didn’t create chances, maybe two in the second half and De Gea made two or three great saves but in the end our performance was not what it should be. It is a first clean sheet, so yippee.
Keep up to date with ALL the Liverpool news, gossip, transfers and goals on our club page plus fixtures, results and live match commentary by clicking HERE
“We weren’t calm enough, that is their style that is OK you need to have respect but be cool. That is not the way we want to play but I accept it we got a point, there are worse things in the world.”
David De Gea’s superb second half saves from Emre Can and Philippe Coutinho secured the first draw between these sides in the last five years.
The Reds have only failed to score in two of their 18 home Premier League games under Jurgen Klopp, though both of those have been against Manchester United.
“I’m pretty sure the last thing Jose Mourinho wants to do is make a compliment for our team. I’m not interested in Man United tonight. We had a few good moments but not enough to deserve the win,” Klopp said.
“We lost patience too early, that’s the first problem and then our passing game was not good. We had 65% possession and you’ve got to do more with the ball. The best news tonight is we have one point more than before and a clean sheet. Nothing else.”
The former Borussia Dortmund boss refused to believe the team’s lacklustre display was a result of changes to his line up including the absence of the injured Adam Lallana.
“That’s not the reason, it’s one reason of course, but it is not possible and it is not allowed that when we have these 10 players then we can’t play our football. It wasn’t the problem,” explained Klopp.
Liverpool stay fourth in the Premier League table after missing the chance to draw level on points with leaders Manchester City.
Mourinho’s United sit in seventh place as they look ahead to their away clash at Chelsea next weekend.