Rodgers says Match with Manchester United is More than a Friendly
Liverpool manager, Brendan Rodgers has said that the friendly between his team and arch rivals, Manchester United, in the International Champions Cup final meeting in Miami on Monday evening is “arguably the biggest game in the world”.
“It’s more than football. It’s life. It is two cities, not very far apart, but historically they have always been huge rivals,” said Rodgers. “It’s arguably the biggest game in the world and for it to be here in the United States is wonderful for the supporters and the organisers. They are the two biggest clubs in Britain and two of the biggest in the world so it will be a fantastic game and we are looking forward to it.
“Not many of these games are friendly. You saw the Manchester City game was competitive. Top players see every game as a competition. There are never too many friendlies playing for Liverpool.”
Liverpool defender Glen Johnson, also said the rivalry between the two sides will help boost fitness levels before the Premier League season.
“When you’re at a top club, you need to be playing the best teams because they’re the ones you’re going to be fighting with throughout the season. It has been a fantastic pre-season,” he said.
“It will be great for the fans and we’re certainly looking forward to it. They’re a massive club as well so I’m sure the fans will turn up and make it a good night. Although it’s pre-season and the main thing is to get fit, we’ve started the way we finished last season. That has pretty much been the philosophy for the whole time.”
Manchester United’s Darren Fletcher also showed he shared their views by saying: “I know it’s only pre-season and it’s just a summer competition, but when United play Liverpool, it is always a big deal. We want to win every match and it is no different when we play Liverpool.
“We have just beaten Real Madrid, the European champions, and we now want to go on and beat Liverpool. That is the sort of thing that gives the squad confidence. We have a lot of young players out here and you have to remember that. But all of us have to do it as a team, collectively, and we are doing that.”
Ashley Young, who now plays as a left wing-back under Van Gaal, said: “There is no better game to finish the tour with. We all know the rivalry with the two teams – it’ll be a great occasion and everyone can’t wait. People may look at it as pre-season but we want to go out and win the game and the trophy.
“It was a fantastic result [against Madrid]. We wanted to be on the front foot from the start and that’s what happened. We only needed a draw but we’re Manchester United so we were only focused on the win. And we want to win the whole tournament now. It doesn’t matter that it’s pre-season, we’re here to try to pick up the trophy. We’re in the final and we want to win it.”
United will hope to avenge the 3-0 Premier League defeat they suffered against Liverpool last season.
