Football
Glenn Price, Liverpool correspondent 7y

Liverpool's Jurgen Klopp not interested in war of words with Jose Mourinho

Jurgen Klopp has dismissed Jose Mourinho's criticism of his Liverpool side and believes his players have a duty to play attacking football because of the club's illustrious history.

Manchester United manager Mourinho responded to claims that his team were defensive in the aftermath of the goalless draw on Monday and suggested Liverpool's attacking style had been overhyped, claiming they are "not the last wonder of the world."

United had just 35 percent of the possession at Anfield and only managed one shot on target, but Reds boss Klopp refused to be drawn into a war of words with his managerial counterpart.

"I am not interested," Klopp is quoted as saying by The Independent. "I thought the game was over, and if we do not have extra-time then why should I talk about it? For me, it is always like this. What I don't like too much in the world of media is this: you write what you hear, and not what you see.

"I could say what I want, obviously, and you would write it. And a few people would think, 'hmmm, maybe he's right,' or 'hmmm maybe he's wrong.' Whatever. But I don't care what people say after the game. I saw the game already, I know what I have to learn from it and all that.

"If you want to write what you saw, then do it. And if it is the same as what other people say, then so be it. But don't bother me with these things. I am not a single percent interested. I learned pretty early in my career that you cannot win the game after it has finished.

"We have a point and it felt positive, because it is one more than before the game. It was a good experience for us, we weren't perfect in the game but that's all. Nothing else."

Liverpool's attention now turns to Saturday's meeting with West Bromwich Albion at Anfield, with Klopp fully aware of what to expect from a Tony Pulis side.

Klopp insists his players have to be ready to overcome the challenges of a team who will look to frustrate, but says they must not forget their "responsibility" to play football that is pleasing on the eye because of Liverpool's past.

"Even if you are 15th in the league with bad performance after bad performance after bad performance, you are still Liverpool," Klopp said. "And if the other team beat you, they make a big thing about it. We cannot ignore our responsibility together with this name, so we have to play this kind of football.

"So that means if you are going to defend against us, don't give us a lot of spaces. But even if you don't give us a lot of space, we can still create things and that makes a good team.

"I don't know where it will lead to but, at the end, if you have the ball more often than the other team and they don't think about defending, it is not too smart."

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