Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said that his side can handle the atmosphere at Old Trafford, when facing Manchester United away in the Europa League on Thursday, and can control it with their performance.
The German added that he is “not scared” and that training at the venue on Wednesday night — which Uefa rules allow them to do – will be a help. Klopp’s men are 2-0 ahead on aggregate after the first leg at Anfield in the last 16 clash against Louis van Gaal’s men.
Klopp said: “It’s one of the best things in football you can do, to play Manchester United when manager of Liverpool. We wanted the full package so we came here to train, stay. We are prepared.
“We know about the job we have to do. It’s difficult of course, but the circumstances are different. I can hear it in your questions. You all ask whether United can strike back.
“It’s not worry. It’s football. The ball is round. Every thing can happen. That’s how it is. But I’m not scared, I’m not afraid.”
Van Gaal has already urged the United support to play their part and create the sort of difficult atmosphere that his men faced when they travelled to Anfield for the first leg.
Klopp claimed he wants a vociferous environment though, saying: “Hopefully. I like it. When it’s loud, I don’t understand what the crowd are singing so it’s pretty easy for me.
“We will decide how good the atmosphere is with our performance. 3,000 travelling Liverpool fans is a really good number. It’s not Man United’s crowd against Liverpool’s crowd.”
Discussing the decision to hold Wednesday’s training session at Old Trafford, the Liverpool manager said: “I always enjoyed it with my former clubs to breathe the stadium, where we play the next night. I like to imagine what can happen.
“We were in the game, in the games against Man United since I’ve been here, and that’s an important sign. The world doesn’t change overnight.
“I’m an optimistic guy. We know that we know how to play them but we’ll have to work for this. We need to be brave and aggressive.
“You have to stay cool, bring your plan through, play football and that’s how it is. You can make mistakes but you have to do so many things right that nobody remembers those. That’s how it was in the first leg.”
He was cautious when reflecting on their 2-0 lead, claiming that it is “not perfect, it’s not a holiday tomorrow” but they have a “chance”. When asked about Marouane Fellaini escaping a ban for a late elbow on Emre Can in the first leg, he tried to be diplomatic.
“It was a situation with different views,” Klopp said. “A lot of people at Uefa have said it was a normal situation. They gave me three games for my face in Naples but that was a long time ago.”
Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson said: “It was a good night for us last week, result and performance, so we can take a lot of confidence from that. But it’s only halfway.
“If we focus on our game plan, it won’t matter what Man United do. It’s all about us. If we’re firing on all cylinders like last week, not many teams can live with us.
“It’ll be a great atmosphere tomorrow and it’s games like this you want to play in as a footballer.
“I’m sure the lads have experienced games like this so they don’t need me to tell them. A few have played in cup finals and played well. We’ve just got to play as normal.
“Our energy levels will be high as always. We want to play real high intensity football. That will be key. We’ll prepare well tonight in training and hopefully we can do the business.”
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