Alisson Becker has told Manchester United players that they must set themselves on fire ahead of their trip to Anfield on Sunday, using last season’s humiliation as motivation.
The Red Devils experienced a calamitous visit to Anfield in March, suffering a 7-0 defeat by the home team, marking one of Erik ten Hag’s most challenging days as the club’s manager.
Manchester United is grappling with issues of form, consistency, and confidence ahead of their upcoming visit to Liverpool. Alisson emphasizes the importance of bringing passion and determination to rectify last season’s disappointing performance.
Asked by The Guardian to put himself in Manchester United’s shoes ahead of their visit to Anfield, Alisson Becker said: ‘I would be on fire and I would try to set my teammates on fire as well.
‘I played against Liverpool and I know how strong this team can be at Anfield. It wasn’t a good experience in terms of the result but this is the kind of game you want to play in.
‘Players from Liverpool, from Chelsea, from Man United, from Man City, are players that have to enjoy playing in this kind of game. I enjoy it a lot when we play against big opponents.
‘As a football player, as an elite athlete, you are going to try to use it [the 7-0] to motivate yourself. I don’t know much about the Man United players but I’m sure they are coming here to try and get the result from us.’
Jurgen Klopp, the manager of Liverpool, has cautioned his players that the 7-0 defeat could serve as motivation for Manchester United in their upcoming Sunday encounter. He aims to prevent any complacency among his team.
‘I don’t follow United closely enough to know exactly what the problem is there, but I saw Erik ten Hag was manager of the month last month. I saw they were the team in form so how can it be all wrong? I just don’t understand it,’ Klopp told a press conference on Friday.
‘We knew that day that the 7-0 was a freak result that happens once in a lifetime. If it helps anybody for the next game then it is the team who lost 7-0, not the team who won 7-0.’
