KLOPP SAYS HE WOULD NOT WANT EVERTON TO BE RELEGATED AND ‘LAMPARD DID A GOOD JOB AT CHELSEA’
Liverpool manager, Jurgen Klopp, has said that he would not want Everton to be relegated ahead of tonight’s Merseyside derby at Anfield. The Liverpool boss said that he hoped Everton would stay in the league so that the Merseyside derby features in every year’s fixture list.
Speaking to Sky Sports’ Jamie Carragher, Klopp, who two weeks ago became the Premier League’s longest-serving manager, said: “Everton is obviously in a difficult situation. That’s how it is. But these games have nothing to do with the table really. It’s always intense. It’s a great game honestly and I hope they stay in the league, obviously. Because the Merseyside derby should always be on the fixture list.
Asked whether he’d miss the derby if Everton were to get relegated, Klopp admitted that he would but emphasized he wanted them cleaner and injury-free, saying that he had no problem when “legal aggression” was used. Merseyside derbies have always been nasty affairs characterized by physicality and full-blooded tackles and have recently resulted in both long and medium-term injuries for Virgil Van Dijk and Thiago Alcantara respectively.
“We’ve played a lot of derbies I would not miss, to be honest,” said the 54-year-old. “Because I really think there are moments where they are over the top. I like physical football but you have to expect that the other guy has to play next week as well. There were moments…we had the one game where it was Pickford and then Richarlison on Thiago. That’s too much.”
“Physicality, yes. Aggression… legal aggression, yes of course. But respecting the rules. If that’s fine then I love the derby.”
The Liverpool boss also said that he thought Frank Lampard did a good job at Chelsea but in the end, it turned out to be a “good decision” for the club.
“I really thought that Frank did a really good job at Chelsea,” Klopp said. “I liked how they played. Chelsea, a club with massive expectations, all you can be (is) first, second or third, and all of a sudden…with the “old ownership” you’re out of the job. And Thomas obviously came there and it was a good decision for Chelsea. But I really like what Frank did at Chelsea.” Frank Lampard’s side are only one point clear of 18th-placed Burnley and have won only two games in their last nine in the Premier League. Everton lost this fixture 4-1 at Goodison Park in December.
-Maher Abucheri
Twitter: @pabloikonyero
Photo: Alexander Migl. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.