MAN UTD BOSS SAYS LIVERPOOL CLASH IS "JUST A MATCH"

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho insists he is treating Saturday's visit to Liverpool the same as any other Premier League fixture.

The Anfield date is one that is always circled in the club's calendar and the intense rivalry between the sides ensures it is often a tense affair.

However, the boss believes it should be considered as just another of the challenges as the Reds aim to mount a push for the title.

"It's three points," he said of the Merseyside mission. "It happened this season, an opposition player told me: 'This match for us is like a cup final and I thought: 'Pfft, why?'

"When you are in a big club, when you are a big player, when you are a big manager, every game is important. You cannot look at some matches as cup finals and other matches differently. For me, every match is a cup final and I've been like this all the time.

"It's three points not four. If we are at a moment in a season where the duel between the two teams ensures the result will mean more than three points, than yes.

Sometimes a draw or even to lose by a certain goal difference is important. In this case, it is not important. It's just a three-point match. That's the way I approach it.

"It's good it's that way for me. It's good to do it without any added pressure or emotion. I have to do it always in a professional way. It's the right example for my players to prepare for the Liverpool game.

"Do I like to go to Anfield? Yes, I love it. Do I like to play against Liverpool? Yes. I like amazing stadiums, the best opponents but the preparation is not different. It's just a match."

Serbia star Nemanja Matic and Belgium hot-shot Romelu Lukaku are in line for their first appearance against Jurgen Klopp's side in a United shirt after both scoring for their respective countries during the international break.

Lukaku has made an instant impact at Old Trafford and his strike as a substitute for his country against Cyprus means he has scored in every single game he's played this term, bar the home clash with Leicester City in August.


"One scores goals, another one is a midfield player, an anchor man," added the boss in TV interviews conducted ahead of the weekend. "A player we always need to give us some more stability in our football.

"In this moment, we are a team with good stability and control of matches. I think Matic has been important for that. We are scoring our goals and, of course, our striker and our no.9 is a man with a very strong arrival at the club."

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