Klopp: 'I don't care what Man Utd are doing'
In the press conference before the 26th round of the Premier League, when asked if he was surprised with Man Utd's progress under Ten Hag, Klopp replied: "I don't think much of it. Surprised? Probably not. How How can they not succeed? Man Utd is a team with experience, quality and good style of play."
Klopp believes that Man Utd has significantly improved the defense under his Dutch colleague, with a new system of coaching. According to him, this is a big difference in the past few years and helps the "Red Devils" fight on all fronts this season.
Man Utd lost only one of the last 22 matches in all competitions. The army under Ten Hag won the League Cup, defeated Barca in the Europa League play-off round, entered the quarterfinals of the FA Cup and is currently third in the English Premier League.
According to Klopp, Man Utd is succeeding with short-term goals, when recruiting Casemiro, Christian Eriksen or Wout Weghorst - players over 30 years old. "Obviously it's not a team built in the next 20 years, but they're looking forward to the present and are playing very well," commented the German coach.
Klopp also praised Ten Hag for turning Man Utd into a point-winning machine and able to fight for the Premier League title. He added: "Man Utd try to win with some really good performances, with top-notch football. If that doesn't happen, they still get good results."
The fact that striker Marcus Rashford set a record of scoring 25 goals in all competitions is a key factor in helping Man Utd revive. Klopp is happy that the England striker is back in top form after falling into form and scoring just five goals last season. He also warned that Rashford was not Man Utd's only world-class player and asked Liverpool to defend collectively.
Contrary to Man Utd's high performance, Liverpool have struggled this season. They became former kings in two Cup tournaments, when they lost to Man City in the League Cup and Brighton in the FA Cup, and lost to Real 2-5 at Anfield in the first leg of the 1/8 Champions League round. In the English Premier League, Liverpool are currently sixth with 39 points, six points behind fourth-place Tottenham and ten points behind Man Utd.
Admittedly Man Utd are having a better season, but Klopp insists it makes absolutely no sense in the specific game. "I don't care what Man Utd is doing, I just respect it. We only care when analyzing the video, and will try to cause more problems than the last game (losing 1-2). August 2022)", he said.
