Klopp unwilling to let Solskjaer claim 'underdog' role for Manchester United

DARK CLOUDS LIFTING: Manchester United have gone a long way since their last visit to Anfield, a 2-0 defeat to a Liverpool side running away with the Premier League. Twelve months on, a United victory would lift them six points of the champions. Picture: Michael Regan/Getty Images

If the two combatants prove as belligerent and creative, both offensively and in defence, as managers Jurgen Klopp and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer were yesterday, then one of the most eagerly-awaited league fixtures of recent months may well live up to its billing tomorrow.

Premier League leaders Manchester United visit defending champions Liverpool with the chance to move six points above the current second-placed club; a stark reminder that if a week is a long time in football, a calendar year might as well be measured in aeons.

Almost exactly 12 months ago to the day, Solskjaer brought Manchester United away from Anfield on the receiving end of a 2-0 defeat, his job security very much in question, and Liverpool an astonishing 30 points above their northwest rivals.

Tomorrow, in the repeat fixture, the United manager will return to an empty Anfield, attempting to steer his team through the 12-month barrier of undefeated domestic away fixtures and, with victory, build a commanding lead in first place.

Such a 36-point swing would be a stunning development, even in this era of Covid-generated unpredictability, although Solskjaer, while admitting that an Anfield without supporters is nowhere near as intimidating as it might otherwise have been, was keen to play the underdog card.

Repeatedly, the United manager used the words “upset” and “shock” when talking about what victory would represent for his team — although it was a notion quickly dispelled by Klopp who barked back that there was no way Solskjaer could claim that title.

“I have been five years in England and United was never an underdog. They cannot be. It is just like it is,” said Klopp.

“Always a good team, always great players, always really good managers and coaches. It was always there and now they are top of the table. That is how it is.

“They cannot be underdogs but we play at home and we don’t see ourselves as an outsider or whatever just because they are ahead of us. We have to be dominant in these games.”

Dominant is precisely what Liverpool have been at Anfield, of course, as they rapidly approach the four-year mark since they lost at home in the league — Crystal Palace in April 2017 the last, unlikely, conquerors of the Reds on home turf.

Given United’s form on the road — 22 unbeaten domestic league and cup games since the trip to Anfield on January 19 last year — it appears the classic case of the unmovable force meeting the unstoppable object, although, to hear Solskjaer describe it, his team are there to do little more than make up the numbers.

“If you look at the last few seasons, I think it would be an upset, it would be a shock,” he said.

“I think our position at the moment is a product of all the hard work we’ve done on the training ground and what the players are putting down every single day and we probably deserve to be where we’re at at the moment.

“We’re looking forward to the game and hopefully we can cause that upset.

“The next game is always the biggest, always the most important, being of course where we are in the league, that gives us more confidence and is an indication of where we’re at.

“But the game against the champions, they’ve got an amazing record at Anfield in the league, haven’t lost for many, many years, so it’s a great test for us — can we go there and cause an upset?”

Still, despite their manager’s protests, there are many factors nudging the game in United’s favour, not least current form that has taken them to the top this late in a season for the first time since 2013, Alex Ferguson’s last January in charge of the club.

Another, surely, has to be the fact that Klopp and his team will be unable to rely upon the febrile atmosphere that usually accompanies such fixtures and which even had Ferguson — hardly a shrinking violet — openly talking about the intimidation factor of visiting Anfield.

It was a point not lost on Solskjaer. “I think football and the results in general have shown how important the fans are,” he said.

“We’ve not lost away from home since Anfield the last time in the league, that’s a year. I think that’s a lot down to the fans not being there.

“The results are not ‘home’ and ‘away.’ It’s a pitch of green grass and white lines, it’s not home and away advantage.

“Compared to a year ago, and the times of going to Anfield with a crowd, it’s a bit of an advantage this time compared to normal. To be at home with your fans is the best feeling for any player. It’s not just a cliche, you need your supporters.”

Whatever the outcome of this weekend’s encounter, the league has been transformed into one of the most competitive and unpredictable in recent memory. Should Liverpool win, plus Manchester City and Leicester collect three points in their fixtures, the weekend would end with one point separating the top four teams. Had Everton’s game with Covid-riddled Aston Villa not been postponed, it could have been one point separating the top five.

The point was made to Klopp that now might be the perfect time for his team to prove they are worthy champions and rise above the pack.

“If it would be that easy, I would just say exactly what you said now: ‘Show it now!’” he said.

“These boys did not go for an excuse for one second that I was here. Not for one second. That does not mean things cannot go wrong. Obviously, we did not do outstandingly well since mid-November. But thank God, when I say I don’t think about the good things, that I don’t think about the bad things. Who cares?

“We still have 33 points. Yes, we are not exactly where we want to be but we have learnt a lot from this season. We have learnt a a lot.”