Manchester United are set to travel to Anfield to face Liverpool on Sunday.
Manchester United star Bruno Fernandes was targeted by Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp during an angry private chat when the Red Devils got the better of the Merseyside giants at Old Trafford in August. United are set to travel to Anfield to take on the Reds in the Premier League on Sunday.
United began the new season in dismal form as they suffered a 2-1 defeat to Brighton on the opening weekend of the season before being thumped 4-0 by Brentford the following weekend. The Red Devils then hosted Liverpool in their third match of the season, with Klopp’s side expected to win the contest.
But the 13-time Premier League champions ran out 2-1 winners as Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford struck for Erik ten Hag’s men, before Mohamed Salah bagged a consolation for the visitors.
In the aftermath of that showdown, Klopp was seen exchanging words with Fernandes on the pitch, with the German complaining about the hosts’ timewasting. But, despite making his point to the Portugal attacker, Klopp dismissed claims that the conversation had been “animated.”
“It was not animated – it was the most harmless conversation I ever had with a player, who was obviously as emotional as I was,” the ex-Borussia Dortmund manager said after the match. “It was the situation with [Lisandro] Martinez, who went down under an ‘awful’ tackle that was obviously nothing. He (Fernandes) made a bit of it, he was talking to me and saying, ‘you’d do the same.’ But it was fine after, he told me he needs these kind of conversations. Okay, it’s fine, use me.”
Klopp and Fernandes had previously come to blows during the 2020/21 campaign after the Reds boss complained about the number of penalties United were being awarded. And Fernandes hit back: “You always see what people say, but I really don’t care. I’m not focused on what they’re saying.
“We have really quick players up front. Anthony Martial is one of the best players one against one in the box, Marcus Rashford is another one who is quick and has quick feet, who can take the ball away from the defender at any moment. It’s normal that sometimes, because of that, they will be tripped and will fall and they gain penalties.
“People can talk and say what they want. But for me and the team, the main point is continuing to do the right things and when we get a penalty, just scoring.”
United are currently three places and 10 points ahead of Liverpool in the Premier League table. And Ten Hag’s team now look to be on course to qualify for next season’s Champions League after missing out on a place in this season’s competition.
Source: www.express.co.uk
