Klopp Talk: “That’s What We Need Again on Sunday”

As difficult as last week’s results were for Liverpool, with a humiliating 5-2 defeat at Anfield to Real Madrid followed up by a nil-nil draw with Crystal Palace, after Wednesday’s victory over Wolves the Reds have now won three of four in the league.

It’s a run that puts them sixth, just six points back of current fourth-place Tottenham with a game in hand on Spurs—though Newcastle in fifth then have a game in hand on Liverpool—and means they head into the weekend with their top four hopes renewed.

“It felt like a proper unit, that we were all together,” was Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp’s reaction to his side’s 2-0 home win against Wolves on Wednesday night. “I loved that. That’s what we need again on Sunday, but of course it will be difficult.

“If you face United, whichever result you’ve had before—either you have to strike back or whatever—but now we have to use [the result] for our situation. We have to build on the performance and on the result and we try everything to do exactly that.”

The mood around Liverpool and Manchester United has rather flipped from a year ago, with United playing confident and looking a lock to finish in the top four while the Reds search to rediscover their identity on the fringes of the European places.

After their promising recent run in the league, then, Sunday’s game will go a long way towards being able to tell if this Liverpool side have just maybe found their feet—or if it’s going to continue to be a two steps forward, one step back kind of season.

“I think Man United is the team in form in the moment, them together with Arsenal and City,” Klopp added. “The teams up there, they are all in a pretty good moment and maybe they will be a bit fresher than us, but it’s a home game and it’s Anfield.”