Liverpool against Manchester United is not in any way different from any other match between big rivals in Europe, according to United coach, Jose Mourinho.
Mourinho is set to lead the Red Devils to Anfield on Monday night for his first Premier League clash with the Reds since he took charge at Old Trafford in July. Liverpool boss, JurgenKlopp declared on Friday that the magnitude of the encounter should not be neglected, but Mourinho feels the Red rivals’ meeting is no greater than others he has experienced during his career.
He said: “I do love to play at Anfield. I won big matches and also lost big matches. It is not true that I am always successful but I like to go there, I like the atmosphere and normally the characteristics of the matches. To me it’s just a big match, it can be compared with Inter Milan, Real Madrid-Barcelona, maybe Porto-Benfica.”
The former Chelsea coach has only recorded one victory over Klopp in their past five encounters which was the 2-0 win over Borussia Dortmund as Real Madrid coach back in the Champions League semi-finals in 2013.
The Red Rivals issued a joint statement this week calling for their fans not to engage in derogatory chanting relating to the Munich air crash and the Hillsborough disaster. He said in football there are some of what can be called ‘football tragedies’ – the important match you lost, the mistake of a player, and you can derive fun from it in a positive way.
“But the human tragedy is much, much more serious and it is the last thing that should be used on a football pitch. It would really make me unhappy if, in such a big football match, come negative reports” Mourinho said.