Liverpool star Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain warns Man Utd that Reds have a ‘score to settle’
ALEX OXLADE-CHAMBERLAIN has warned Manchester United that Liverpool have a “score to settle” today. Jurgen Klopp’s unbeaten runaway Premier League leaders have dropped points only once this season — in the 1-1 draw at Old Trafford in October. And midfield ace Oxlade-Chamberlain, 26, appeared to taunt two fuming United fans who snubbed his offer of […]
ALEX OXLADE-CHAMBERLAIN has warned Manchester United that Liverpool have a “score to settle” today.
Jurgen Klopp’s unbeaten runaway Premier League leaders have dropped points only once this season — in the 1-1 draw at Old Trafford in October.
And midfield ace Oxlade-Chamberlain, 26, appeared to taunt two fuming United fans who snubbed his offer of a fist-bump at full-time.
This week a Kop supporters’ social media site told fellow fans to “let them know we mean business” by welcoming United’s coach to Anfield with “pints, pyros and flags”.
And the Ox has now stoked the fire even further ahead of the clash with Liverpool’s bitter rivals.
The England star admitted: “There’s always a score to settle in this game. It’s massive. There’s a lot of history in this fixture.
“You get drawn into the meaning of it by the fans, because they’re the people that support you all year round.
“So, we buy into that and as a player you sort of take on that rivalry and it becomes your own.
“Bragging rights are always nice but the main thing is making sure your team is more successful than the other — picking up results, finishing higher in the table.
“It means a lot to us as players as well and how much it means to the fans. We take responsibility for that, making sure we can get the right result for them and for us as well.
“We weren’t happy with the game at Old Trafford. We didn’t play well enough — and we were disappointed we weren’t a bit more clinical.”
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Reds boss Klopp has won only one of eight Premier League games against United since he took charge in 2015.
In October, United took a first-half lead through Marcus Rashford before the European champs levelled with an 85th-minute strike from Adam Lallana.
The Ox admits his side had no idea it would prove to be such a significant result — with Lallana’s late leveller helping preserve that unbeaten record.
He added: “Ad came on and scored a really important goal which gave us a good point at the time.
“At that stage of the season, we don’t look at that as a blot because we didn’t know we’d go on to achieve what we have so far.
“It would have been nice to have got a win there. But if you look at the season as a whole — if you go to Old Trafford and get a draw and you’re not happy with that — then that puts you in a good place.
“I don’t look too much at those things. “I don’t want us to drop points but I don’t look back at that game and think that’s ruined our season.”
SALAH WAITING
Mohamed Salah missed that draw at Old Trafford with an ankle injury.
The Egypt superstar, 27, is yet to score or get an assist against United in his four games against them since arriving in 2017 from Roma in a £34.4million deal.
But Salah reckons that is because United have often double-marked him. He said: “Manchester United play against me in a different way to some other players.
“It’s a challenge — but I’m happy about that. As long as the team are winning, I’m always happy.
“In my second year, it was a real challenge to see what I could do when the other teams came to defend against me on the wing.
“And I knew that there would always be two players waiting for me there.”
Salah insists he does not care about his own goals tally this season — just as long as Liverpool end their 30-year wait to be crowned champions of England again.
The former Chelsea star added: “I want to win the Premier League and I don’t mind how we do it in the next 17 games.
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“I want that trophy, that’s the most important thing. When I came here we were not top of the league.
“We finished fourth in my first year, then we were second last season. I want to win the Premier League.
I have always believed that we can achieve it and that’s what we are trying to do. If we do the hard work, the rest will come.”