Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp praised Christian Eriksen, Casemiro and Marcus Rashford ahead of his side's meeting with Manchester United on Sunday afternoon.
All three stars have played a key role in United's success under Erik ten Hag this season. Both Eriksen and Casemiro were brought to the club by Ten Hag during his first summer as United boss and they've been instrumental in strengthening an area of the squad that was evidently in need of reinforcements.
Meanwhile, Rashford endured the most difficult spell of his career to date last season, with a combination of injuries and a loss of form seeing him notch just five goals throughout the 2021/22 campaign. The England international has been rejuvenated by the arrival of Ten Hag and has already surpassed the best single-season tally of his career, with his strike in the Carabao Cup final seeing him break the 25-goal barrier in all competitions.
READ MORE: Jurgen Klopp gives his verdict on United, Erik ten Hag and Marcus Rashford
While Klopp admitted during his pre-match press conference that it was "impossible" for him to be pleased with the progress United have made - as you would expect - he admitted they deserved to be battling at the top of the Premier League table and praised Eriksen, Casemiro and Rashford.
“They deserve it, they deserve to be where they are," he told reporters in his pre-match press conference (via the Liverpool Echo). "They won the points and play good football. It’s not where we are this year but we were there the last few years and want to go there again. 100 per cent.
“Apart from that I couldn’t be less interested in what they are doing. I just respect what they do. Then we analyse it. We have an analysis meeting, we go through it and we will try and find a way to cause them more problems than when we did in the first game when we played them [at Old Trafford in August]. That is the only time United comes up in my mind, nothing else."
He continued: "I didn’t think too much about Ten Hag’s impact, to be honest. Surprised? Probably not. Go through the team. How could they not be good?
“They are really experienced, they have quality and a good way of playing. A new way to defend. Defensively a massive difference, properly man-orientated and with the ball, just quality.
“It’s a good idea, but super experienced players came in like Eriksen and Casemiro. They were all over the world successful. Rashford is in the form of his life. For sure, influenced by Ten Hag as well but when our players play well, it is not like I feel, ‘Oh, I did that!’ It is a good team, how could they not be successful?
“But again, they have to play us and I would like to show that that’s different in a positive way for us."
United's clash with Liverpool kicks off at 4.30pm on Sunday and MEN Sport will be bringing you regular updates via our live matchday blog.
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