Jurgen Klopp expressed his frustration with Manchester United’s tactics after Liverpool relinquished their flawless home record in a dull goalless draw at Anfield.
While the home side fell short of their dynamic best, they still generated numerous opportunities that, on a different day, might have resulted in a decisive triumph.
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In contrast, United displayed the resilience and determination that had been notably absent in recent losses to Bournemouth and Bayern Munich, earning them a well-deserved point.
Given their confidence struggles and a growing injury crisis, it was unsurprising that United opted to absorb pressure and counter-attack. However, this strategic approach did not sit well with their opponents.
Virgil van Dijk asserted that only one team sought victory, a sentiment later echoed by Klopp, who insisted that United’s focus was solely on defensive play.
‘I’ve had a few minutes to recover from the disappointment,’ said the Liverpool mananger.
‘I’m too long in the this to not understand what happened today with the whole build-up. I prefer them being in a better position so then we can play football.
‘If you play in the Premier League with a team of quality like Man Utd and they just defend then it doesn’t make life easy.
‘We should have scored and that would have changed the dynamic of the game. The chances were big enough so we were unlucky.
‘The style of the game was the best we had, the press we played was the best we had. It was a big game for us and there was a lot of emotion in there.
‘I thought we created an incredible atmosphere on the pitch which led to it being incredible off the pitch. The fans did their part so it’s all good beside the result.
‘It’s just how it is and we can take a lot from this game. We started the game intensely. Today we didn’t have to come back and we were disciplined form the start.
‘This was a real derby and there was everything. It was a good game to watch.’
