Q&AJürgen Klopp press conference: 'We better play a really good game if we want something'
Jürgen Klopp has called on his Liverpool team to 'keep fighting' and says they must be at the top of their game if they are to gain a positive result at Manchester United on Sunday.
The Reds have registered back-to-back home Premier League victories, which have come against Brighton & Hove Albion and Sheffield United, following the March international break.
Liverpool now head to Old Trafford this weekend, where they were beaten 4-3 in the Emirates FA Cup in the middle of last month.
However, Klopp's charges enter the next round of top-flight fixtures at the summit of the standings and will be aiming to continue their strong form in the league.
Ahead of the match against Erik ten Hag's men, the manager discussed the ongoing title race, what he learned from the previous loss at United, and the recent work by both clubs to educate and inform all supporters on tragedy chanting.
See a summary of his pre-match press conference below…
On the importance of eradicating tragedy chanting and recent work done by both clubs' Foundations with young people to help do so…
It's super-important. There are different aspects. One is that I don't hear it, honestly, when I'm on the sideline. I heard after the game that it happened, and that is obviously not great. In general it's just helpful that we educate our kids in specific things: respect, understanding, all these kind of things. I just see it that way, that two of the biggest football clubs in the world, let's just show a bit of class in these moments. So, don't sing this or sing that, just show class. Have a fight on the pitch, let's play football, if you want be happy if we lose or whatever, these kinds of things, that's all fine. But besides that, just show a bit of class. That would be really my wish for all of us.
On whether Liverpool have to be 'perfect' for the rest of the season to win the title…
That's obviously how it is in the Premier League. Tell me a different race? We became champions [in 2019-20] and it was obviously decided pretty early, otherwise probably [Manchester] City as well here or there, but most of the time they were tight races and it looks like a tight race. So, if it's a tight race then the best place you can be is in it. We are in it and that's cool, that's good. And now let's keep fighting, that's how it is.
Obviously the next one is the big one, like they all are. Somebody said we had the best fixture list or schedule; I looked at it and I really don't know how you can have had that idea, maybe I'm too negative but it's a tough one, good opponents. But we are ready and we want to be in that fight, so let's see what we can make of it.
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Watch on YouTubeOn what he learned from the FA Cup defeat at Old Trafford last month…
The story of the game, we spoke after the game about it – they started better, then we took over and we were really good that day but we didn't finish the situations off in extra-time. The good news is we will not have twice 15 minutes [of] extra-time. That was too much for us that day, we couldn't control it anymore and made mistakes we didn't make before at all. And United turned the game around.
United is a top side playing at home, we all know that. But we cannot just tell, 'Let's do what we did from minute 15 to, I don't know, 70-something.' Football is not that easy. We have to find a way to cause United problems and they will try exactly the same. On that level, with this opponent, in this stadium, we better play a really good football game, to be honest, if we want something there.