Manchester United travel to Anfield on Sunday with a feared counter-attack but Jurgen Klopp knows how to beat it.
“The majority of the time, we face teams set up like this,” Klopp said on Friday, per the BBC. “We want to be dominant, but we have to protect ourselves against this situation.
“Attacking football only works if you use the full width of the pitch in the attacking half and that makes it dangerous when you lose the ball.”
That first line is the key. Yes, United have a great counter-attack and thrive against high lines but Liverpool play against that setup every week.
Liverpool need to worry about United more, of course. While a team like Brighton might try the same thing, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side are undoubtedly better at it.
But in terms of knowing how to work against it, Klopp and Liverpool know the ins and outs. They know full well the type and style of game they need to play.
The big difference is how good they’ll need to be, especially in pressing and managing their defensive line. Klopp went on to say that “this game is asking us for perfection” and he’s correct – the United counter will punish you.
Even Manchester City lost to it, of course. United scored twice in the first half-hour and saw the rest of the game out. But then, City haven’t been as near-perfect as Liverpool this season.
The only team to set up in this way and get even a point is United and that was at Old Trafford after an international break.
A fully-fit and raring to go Liverpool will back themselves to beat United’s gameplan. It’ll be a more difficult game than usual but they won’t have to change from their usual winning methods.
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