Roy Keane says Man United are 'playing like a small club' as Jurgen Klopp sends warning ahead of Arsenal clash
Jurgen Klopp has warned Manchester United that they will lose to Arsenal next month if they play like they did against his Liverpool team.
The lead of the Premier League table changed hands at the weekend as Liverpool only managed a 2-2 draw against the Red Devils after Arsenal beat Brighton.
But for the second time in three weeks, Liverpool leave Old Trafford wondering what could have happened as they failed to increase the 1-0 lead they had in what was a dominant first-half display.
And five minutes into the second half they had to pay for having wasted Man United managed to level when Bruno Fernandes pounced on a loose pass from Jarell Quansah before deftly guiding the ball over Reds goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher from 40 yards.
Kobbie Mainoo then put Man United ahead with a brilliant curling effort, but Mohamed Salah prevented Liverpool from a damaging defeat with a late penalty.
Virgil van Dijk was lamenting Liverpool's ability to kill the game after the game, with Klopp warning Erik ten Hag's side that they will not be as lucky when they face the Gunners in their penultimate game of the season.
“Arsenal are a good football team and if they play like today, Arsenal will win that game, I'm 100 percent sure,” Klopp said in his press conference.
“I'm very sorry to say that, but this is a fact.
“We should have won both games (the league and the FA Cup) and we didn't. It's our fault.”
It was a good point for Man United, but performance is a major concern in the eyes of club legend Roy Keane.
“You need those characters, those leaders. I repeat myself every week here, but that's what you need from a group of players,” Keane told Sky Sports.
“The way Man United play is like a mid-table team, a small club. You don't know what to expect.
“There is a bit of excitement, but if you want to win the big prizes and compete, you have to be there week in and week out.
“And not these players, the statistics will tell you. They have lost 12 games, the goal difference (-1)… is not good enough.”
However, Red Devils coach Ten Hag was encouraged by what he saw from his players in the second half.
“In the first half we lost the duels and the decision-making in the intermediate spaces, we were not fast enough,” he said.
“At half-time we encouraged the team to win those duels. We didn't take advantage of the first half and in the second we did take advantage.
“We needed a moment in the game to punish a Liverpool mistake, but that got us back into the game.
“(Their second goal) was a very good team goal, a goal outside of the game plan, so I'm very proud that the team was able to transfer this the way we did to get the ball into the middle more space and then change and then that ending was brilliant.”