There is always added spice when Liverpool are to play Manchester United. And you can be sure that the war of words will reach fever pitch when the two giants meet before they meet on 18 October.
Liverpool did get the better of Manchester United in the Europa League last season. The Reds won 2-0 at Anfield before drawing 1-1 at Old Trafford. And with the game in a few weeks, Jose Mourinho has already started to moan about the fixtures.
The Manchester United boss was not impressed with the fact that the match was shifted to a Monday. This would mean that the Red Devils have little time to recover as they play a Europa League game on the following Thursday.
The Portuguese manager was quoted by the Liverpool Echo as saying:
“Well, we could play Liverpool on the Saturday, we could play Liverpool on the Sunday,
“We play Liverpool on the Monday.”
The manager also bemoaned the fact that the Red Devils have to play Chelsea after the Fenerbahce game in the Europa League.
“So maybe we don’t have the best conditions, especially because we play against two top Premier League games that don’t play in European competitions.”
Mourinho went as far as saying that this game on Monday was a “poisoned chalice”.
“We had this kind of poisoned gift of playing on the Monday. That creates a very difficult situation, but we want to try and qualify for the next round. We want to try.
“(There is a) long time to go, almost a month, but we want to try, so we will play against Fenerbahce with a team with possibilities to beat Fenerbahce.”
The Portuguese manager was even asked if he tried to reschedule the game against Liverpool.
“The poisoned gift is already there, so what can you do? We just have to play Monday, and then Thursday, and then Stamford Bridge on the Sunday.
“But before that we have Stoke (this Sunday), so let us concentrate on Stoke because it is another poisoned gift because Stoke is not what the table says.”
Same old Mourinho, always complaining
While Mourinho does have a point that his team will not have a lot of time to recover, this is just another ploy by the manager. Manchester United are not playing all that well and struggled in their last game against Zorya Luhansk in the Europa League.
The record Premier League champions have struggled for consistency and with Mourinho already making noises about the fixtures, it does cover any losses the club faces during this period.
The Red Devils might be wary of facing a rampant Liverpool side before facing Fenerbahce, which will be a tough game as well. The Merseyside club are in great form at the moment and will be looking to continue their fine run against Swansea before taking on United later in October.
For Manchester United, they seem to be clicking into gear but a poor result against Stoke will send the vultures circling over Mourinho again. No wonder the former Chelsea manager has set his stall out even before the club faces Liverpool.
