Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp hits out at Agbonlahor over comments made about Manchester United
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has objected to former Aston Villa striker Gabby Agbonlahor's harsh comments about Manchester United. The English giants face each other at Old Trafford on Monday, August 22 with both sides yet to win a match.
The German was addressing the media in his pre-match presser when he referred to Agbonlahor's rant on talkSPORT after the Red Devils' 4-0 loss against Brentford. The Liverpool boss happened to be driving home and chanced upon the program on radio, only to find the former striker criticizing the Manchester United players.
Klopp wasn't pleased by it at all and took a dig at Agbanlahor without mincing his words. The German reminded the retired professional of his Aston Villa days when he was on the receiving end of a 6-0 thumping by the Reds. Klopp said the former striker failed to be the 'mentality monster' he was expecting Manchester United players to be.
The Liverpool manager said (via This is Anfield) :
“It was obviously not a nice week for United after the Brentford game. We forget in these moments how good Brentford are. I watched the first half and I drove home and coincidentally listen to talkSPORT and Gabby Agbonlahor… he lost against us 6-0 in my first year."
“I couldn’t remember him as a mentality monster on the pitch, but what he said about Manchester United in that show, I was close to calling in. I was close to calling in and telling him you forgot completely you’ve been a player. It was unbelievable."
“I don’t remember him being a mentality monster.”
Klopp thinks Gabriel Agbonlahor is a massive knobhead. https://t.co/iDDmLqV0Zt
Liverpool evidently look like the more confident of the two sides going into the clash. Despite drawing both their opening fixtures, their performances were still quite impressive. Manchester United, on the other hand, not only lost their opening two fixtures, but looked disjointed and lacked confidence on the pitch.
It will be interesting to see how Erik ten Hag approaches the game against the Reds and the manner in which he sets up his team.
Klopp confirms English centre-back will be in the starting XI for Liverpool against Manchester United
In his press conference, the German addressed Joe Gomez' return to on-field action in their last game against Crystal Palace. The player came on as a substitute at halftime when Liverpool were down to 10 men with Darwin Nunez receiving a red card.
However, Klopp confirmed that Gomez will replace Nat Phillips in the starting XI and start alongside Virgil van Dijk at the heart of the defense. The Liverpool manager said:
"It is an opportunity. He only came back to team training on Sunday from a little issue. Nat Phillips played a really good game against Palace. Joe is back, he will start and it's a big opportunity."
NEW: Joe Gomez is set to make his first start of the season alongside Virgil van Dijk in defence after an impressive cameo against Palace. The centre half played a full part in Thursday’s session at the AXA Training Centre. #lfc [james pearce - the athletic]
🚨 NEW: Joe Gomez is set to make his first start of the season alongside Virgil van Dijk in defence after an impressive cameo against Palace. The centre half played a full part in Thursday’s session at the AXA Training Centre. #lfc [james pearce - the athletic] https://t.co/UE1krV9c4f