The Liverpool boss joked that, after the Red Devils’ failure to defeat Manchester City to help their rivals, he has no reason to assist them
Jurgen Klopp laughed off a question regarding Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s Manchester United and what the Norwegian needs to do to turn things around, insisting he sees no reason to offer them assistance.
United were beaten 2-0 by Manchester City on Wednesday in a game that could have seen them aid Liverpool’s Premier League title bid, had they claimed all three points.
Instead, it was Pep Guardiola’s men who took a large step towards defending their crown, with second-half goals from Bernardo Silva and Leroy Sane delivering a priceless win for the visitors.
It has been something of a tumultuous 2018-19 campaign at Old Trafford despite Solskjaer having initially got the Red Devils back on track after he replaced Jose Mourinho in December.
In what was a remarkable start to his managerial career at the club, United won 14 matches out of 17, culminating in the miraculous Champions League win over Paris Saint-Germain on March 6.
That ultimately earned the Norwegian the full-time job at the club, with the Red Devils confirming that Solskjaer had been given a three-year contract to manage United permanently on March 28.
Things have not been so rosy since, however, with United currently on a run of seven defeats in their last nine matches.
And Klopp, who faced similar problems with Liverpool struggling to compete at the top of the table when he took over in 2015, was in no mood to offer any of the secrets to his success regarding how he turned it around at Anfield.
When asked about the similarities between what he has done on Merseyside and what Solskjaer must do to improve his side’s fortunes, he told reporters: “They didn’t help us, why should we help them?!”
Asked for his thoughts on the Manchester derby, Klopp added: “It was the result I expected. United tried whatever they can, in the first half especially. They were a bit unlucky in one or two moments, but over 95 mins it was clear they can’t stand up to City at the moment.
“I was not surprised by the result. I watched it and I was completely calm. Finally, this game was played, for months there was always one game in hand. Now it’s clear, we are one point behind City and if we win our next two games, then it will be decided on the last game.
“That’s pretty special. But first we have to win our games, which is difficult enough. We are concentrated on the next one, against Huddersfield.”
The result in the Manchester derby means that City moved a point above Liverpool at the top of the table with three games remaining for both sides.
Pep Guardiola’s side’s remaining fixtures see them face Burnley away next before hosting Leicester City on May 6 and then finishing the season with an away trip to struggling Brighton.
Liverpool, meanwhile, take on Huddersfield in the Friday evening fixture this week, before an away fixture against Newcastle wedged in between the Champions League semi-final showdown with Barcelona.
The Reds conclude the season against Wolves at home on the final day, and Klopp added on the title race as we enter the final weeks of the season: “It’s like Highlander, only one of us will be there at the end!
“We don’t only play to be champions, yes it’s a main target, and this team is pretty close in the moment. We still have a chance, and we will see what happens. But this will be the first time, not the last time.
“Just because the club is waiting a long time but that doesn’t make it any more likely. That we are close is already rather surprising because last year we were 25 points behind. That’s really good.
“We have to carry on, and we will carry on, but only one team can be champion. I knew that before we started. We want to play the best football we can play every single day. That’s all we are interested in.
“We still have three games to play, Huddersfield, Newcastle, Wolverhampton – they proved again that it will be a tough game. We don’t have to reset the situation or summarise the season. If we do it, we will do it.
“If we don’t do it, there are no regrets as long as we give it our best, and I saw that all season from the boys. Whatever we end up, it is only the first step. We are not finished. We started this year with this team and we will carry on.”
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