“I’m not interested in what Jose Mourinho says.”
Jurgen Klopp had a tetchy response when Jose Mourinho’s prediction for the upcoming season.
Both Liverpool and Chelsea appeared to benefit from having no European football last season. Chelsea won the league, and Liverpool finished fourth. Manchester United ended the season in sixth place, but qualified for the Champions League by winning the Europa League.
Jürgen Klopp x Darude​ – Sandstorm pic.twitter.com/OuzwTPeXih
— JOE (@JOE_co_uk) July 24, 2017
Mourinho constantly reminded people that their season was adversely affected by the number of games they had to play, while Chelsea and Liverpool had the advantage of just playing one game a week.
However, the United manager reckons that perceived advantage won’t be there next season for either club, and predicted that the playing field will be levelled.
“There is one thing, this season is going be a little more balanced because of the fact the top six are all in European competitions,” Mourinho said.
“Not like last season, when Chelsea and Liverpool played all season one match per week, with all the others playing in Europeans competitions – especially us, playing in Europa League. Next season, six teams, and also Everton, are going to play in Europe and that is going to create a new situation for Chelsea and Liverpool.”
After a few pre-season games… https://t.co/oYxwCnwcag
— FootballJOE (@FootballJOE) July 25, 2017
Mourinho wouldn’t say that the lack of European football was the ‘key’ factor in Chelsea’s title success, but stated that it was certainly a factor for Antonio Conte’s side. The United manager once again referenced Liverpool in his answer.
“I don’t want to say it was ‘key,’ because if I say that, I don’t want to take credit from the credit that they [Chelsea] deserve,” said during an interview with ESPN.
“But obviously, to play one match per week and one, two or three days off during the week, have no injuries or no accumulation, the same with Liverpool, I think obviously it helps. Now they are going to face a different situation, but with the squad they have and the players they are signing, I think they are going to cope with it.”
— FootballJOE (@FootballJOE) July 25, 2017
Klopp didn’t appear to appreciate Mourinho’s comments.
He referenced United’s Europa League final victory over Ajax, and Liverpool’s own loss in the final the year before to Sevilla, which seemed to suggest that he feels United had the easier opponents.
“I’m not interested in what Jose Mourinho says. Why should I talk about Manchester United? Jose is talking about us, yes. Okay, we had a season like Man United the year before. I don’t know if anybody asked us how it feels. Sorry that we lost the final yes, that’s right. We played Sevilla, they played Ajax. That’s the difference.”
https://twitter.com/AnfieldHQ/status/889599703997972480
