The Liverpool manager accepts the special feeling around a derby but insists that the Reds will approach it like a ‘normal game'.
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With fixtures coming thick and fast in a busy winter for English clubs, Liverpool will be hoping to keep pace with Premier League leaders Chelsea. The Reds are currently sitting at third with 28 points from 13 matches and are only two points behind the table toppers. In their quest to stay in the race for the title, Liverpool face a mighty midweek challenge in the form of a familiar foe. The Reds will lock horns with Everton in a pulsating Merseyside derby. Manager Jurgen Klopp accepts the special feeling around a derby but insists that the Reds will approach it like a “normal game”. In his pre-match press conference, Klopp previewed the 239th Merseyside derby, as he spoke about how much the clash means to the supporters at the AXA Training Centre.
Asked how different the Merseyside derby will be to the Reds’ previous three matches, Klopp replied, “We all know there are some special things around derbies, these kind of things. But first and foremost, it’s a football game as well and that’s exactly how we want to approach it and that’s it pretty much. We know what our supporters want. I think we are not suspicious of not understanding the supporters’ soul and we try to fulfil their dreams and we try to fulfil their wishes, and derby games are more in the focus, if you want. But from our point of view, it’s a football game which we have to approach like a normal football game.”
Considering the tight schedule with which Premier League clubs are operating lately, Klopp spoke about having an extra day’s worth of preparation for the game. “The extra day usually helps. When we usually have one day less, we feel that, to be honest. It’s like that. You only have a recovery day. Actually the second-day recovery is usually really important for the boys – it’s not just recovery, you can do some stuff but it’s difficult to train properly and then you play again. It’s a massive difference, so we will see,” Klopp explained.
Liverpool’s star forward Mohamed Salah managed a seventh-place finish in the 2021 Ballon d’Or list, which was announced recently. In the end, Lionel Messi won the Ballon d’Or for a record seventh time. Behind him was Bayern Munich striker Rober Lewandowski, who finished second in the voting with Chelsea midfielder Jorginho third in a glittering ceremony in the French capital. Speaking about it, Klopp said, “Yeah about his position I was surprised, to be honest, but it’s not in my hands. I think I saw the votes somewhere – the Ballon d’Or is journalists’ vote? You don’t have to ask me then, it’s your fault. That’s how it is.”
“You are the journalists, if you think he should be higher up, then you have to convince your colleagues. I’m really not sure what it is 100 per cent. I said that you can give it to Lionel Messi for the career he has, for the footballer he is, all these kind of things. But if you don’t give it Robert Lewandowski this time then it’s quite tricky to get it at all. Yes, Mo definitely should have been higher up but that’s it.”
