Liverpool’s warm reception on their arrival into Bangkok has prompted Jurgen Klopp to take a swipe at Manchester United who arrived the day before.
Klopp and his players received a huge welcome after landing in the Thai capital for the start of their pre season tour. Fans gathered outside the airport and the team hotel to get a glimpse of their favourite players.
Media duties beckoned for Klopp as soon as he landed. And the German was in his usual fine form as he made a joke at United’s expense.
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Klopp said: “First question I have...did it look like this yesterday when Manchester(United) was here as well?”
And the crowd replied with: “No!No.”, in fairness, United also received a hugely warm welcome on their arrival on Saturday.
The two historic rivals are set to get their pre season underway against each other on 12 July. Klopp spoke about the prospect of facing United under the leadership of new boss Erik ten Hag.
Klopp said: “Usually football matches are the most important thing for us. But in this specific case it's really more for the people.”
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“We have 37 players - all generations here - and we have to use all of them. The boys who were on international duty in the summer only arrived today pretty much. They cannot play too long but we will try to give them a few minutes as well.
He added: “Manchester United. New manager. Trained a little bit longer than us. Not sure, but might be in a better situation in the moment. We see it as an important test because it's against United - and we don't play friendlies!”
The match against United will potentially give Liverpool fans a first look at new signing Darwin Nunez, but it is currently unlikely he will feature as he is yet to train with his new team mates.
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Liverpool will be looking to go one better in the Premier League and the Champions League in the upcoming season after being pipped by Manchester City and Real Madrid in both competitions. They will also be looking to defend their FA Cup and Carabao Cup titles.
For United, it is the first time Ten Hag will see if his players have taken on his instructions as the new era begins. The Red Devils are hoping for much better results in the new season after a dismal 21/22 campaign. The pressure will be on both the manager and the players.
Featured Image Credit: Alamy/Twitter@LFCTopics: Liverpool, Manchester United, Jurgen Klopp, Erik Ten Hag
