Jurgen Klopp reminded Gabby Agbonlahor of a thumping Liverpool victory over Aston Villa as he responded to the pundit's withering comments on Manchester United.
Agbonlahor, 35, tore into the Red Devils after they suffered a calamitous 4-0 defeat at Brentford on Saturday evening, condemning them to back-to-back Premier League losses. He branded United's players "amateur" and their performance in West London "a shambles" before declaring they look "like strangers on the pitch".
The former England striker is no stranger to a fierce outburst in his capacity as a talkSPORT pundit, but Klopp was less than impressed by his recent Red Devils rant. The Liverpool manager tuned into the radio station while driving home from training and admits he was on the verge of calling in to speak directly to Agbonlahor.
"It was not a nice week for United after Brentford. We forget how good Brentford are," Klopp told reporters on Friday. "I watched the first half and then radio, talkSPORT. Gabby Agbonlahor... I was close to calling in! He wasn't a mentality monster when we beat Villa 6-0."
The Reds travelled to Villa Park in February 2016, during Klopp's first season in charge, and dismantled the Midlands club. Daniel Sturridge, James Milner, Emre Can, Divock Origi, Nathaniel Clyne and Kolo Toure were on the scoresheet in the resounding victory, while Agbonlahor was substituted just before the hour mark.
Klopp's comments on Brentford and unlikely defence of United come before Liverpool make the trip to Old Trafford to take on their arch-rivals on Monday night. Both North-West giants are aiming to pick up their first victory of the season after underwhelming performances in their first two games.
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Erik ten Hag's Red Devils were beaten 2-1 at home by Brighton before they were thrashed at Brentford, while Liverpool rescued a 2-2 draw at Fulham on the opening weekend and were held to a 1-1 stalemate by Crystal Palace earlier this week. "We weren't happy with the [Fulham] performance," Klopp added.
"Palace was really good but special because of red card. Can't remember seeing 10v11 where 10 put them under pressure so much. We did well. We want results and they help but we need performances to work with. We want results obviously, but it is about the performance levels as well."
Darwin Nunez was sent off in the second half against the Eagles, when Liverpool were trailing 1-0, but a sublime Luis Diaz strike ensured the Reds did not leave Anfield empty handed.
