If last season’s mental scars were long cured in Liverpool, the physical ones still remain.
No more than Virgil van Dyke, whose season as a defending Premier League champion ended in just five games after injuring the ACL thanks to a reckless challenge from Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford.
In what will surely be one of the most scandalous derbies of the modern era in terms of the Reds, Thiago Alcantara, whose career in Liverpool at the time was less than a month, was also removed during the greater part of three months after a wild blow by Richardson in which the Brazilian international was expelled late.
This had a huge impact on Tiago’s adaptation period at Merseyside, with his return to the squad without senior central defenders at the end of December coinciding with a decline in wealth that was halted only with the onset of spring.
In a game that had everything from goals and red cards to VAR conflicts and career-threatening injuries, Jurgen Klopp’s team was left to count the price of a 2-2 draw in October 2020 and while the landscape looks great different in 18 months The manager wanted to emphasize the need to control any aggression in Sunday’s derby at Anfield.
“The pitch has a specific size, and we both have 10 field players, you can close spaces by moving, you can’t close spaces by knocking down someone who can no longer walk,” Klopp told a news conference on Friday. “I’ve said too much now and I know what people will do about aggression and Everton, and what you’re all going to do all of a sudden is say, ‘Klopp wants Everton to do this.’
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“No, I do not want. You ask me and you tell me about it, so just write what you want. We are ready for any kind of challenge, but just keep it in a big frame of rules and stay there and everything will be fine. I wish them the best to stay in the league, this is a normal match and they both want three points, let’s see who will get them.
“I can’t talk to you [the media] without being misunderstood. Today I did not think for a second about this game [at Goodison Park last season]. We’ve had other games where things like this happen. It was one game and then we were missing three players, that’s right, but there were other games. Everything is fine. Everyone is fighting for three points and that’s good. “
Klopp’s Liverpool have led the fair play table every year since their first full season in 2016/17 and are currently third in that particular division, taking just one red card this term for Andy Robertson at Tottenham in December. However, the visit to Everton sees the return of the match with the most red cards in the era of the Premier League with 20 and the blues at the top of the list this season with four hands.
“That’s how we all settled, isn’t it nowadays?” was Frank Lampard’s response to Klopp on Friday. “We expect the players to be physical and to follow the right side of the law, and I would expect the same from Liverpool. I hope the referee sees this, I mean, we’re going to go to Anfield to make sure the referee understands, because I think Goodison’s yellow cards have turned red and maybe Anfield doesn’t always work that way.
“In the last game at Anfield we saw that the red card situation turned into a yellow card. So we will try to stay on the right side of the law, as we always do. This is just this clear message. We expect the players to be mature and committed, but the players need to understand that we need to stay on this side of the line in favor of the team. It’s hard enough for us and if we have 10 men, it’s almost impossible. ”
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Klopp’s discussion of aggression in the game was broader, coming days after Manchester United were humiliated 4-0 at Anfield in a match in which substitute Hannibal Maybri could be sent off. The other night, the youngster could receive two yellow cards for late challenges when the Red Devils collapsed to their second heavy defeat in the campaign by Klopp’s men.
After the match, Sky Sports expert Gary Neville spoke of his pride in watching Maybri show a desire to exercise against the Reds as he sat on the bench while his more experienced counterparts were struck by four of Klopp’s pursuers at night.
“It takes a young child to get involved and show others how to sprint for the ball and challenge,” Neville said in a comment. “I’m actually proud of him! Maybe he doesn’t like the idea of the Liverpool players throwing him away. I wish the others were the same.”
The United legend later apologized for his comments, and while Klopp said he could understand what was meant by Anfield’s initial comment, the Liverpool boss said aggression in football should be put on the right channels, especially on the day of the derby.
Klopp added: “He had to apologize for that, right. I understand where it comes from. Obviously you want to see some aggression, but there is a difference between aggression and kicking players. There’s no point. Aggression in football means you are ready to hurt yourself, not the other. I do not blame the kid (Mejbri), he came in and the game was a little fast and a little late here and there. Everything is fine.
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“Aggression in football is absolutely good, but you can’t solve your problems by hurting opposing players, I never understood that. I played 325 professional football matches and without aggression and physical form I would not have played any.
“It was not my only strength and I am perfectly fine with it, but show respect. That is all. Of course, things can happen in football, it’s a high-speed game, but not things you don’t care about for another colleague who wants to play again in a few days.
“Emotion is about challenges that should not be allowed. What does emotion have to do with this? You want to fight, you fight. Blocking balls or whatever, we block balls on the line, it’s also a passion. I’ve said too much already, oh God, I know what you’re going to do with him. Now we have a real job to do, huh? “
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