Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp ridicules Gabby Agbonlahor over Manchester United ‘shambles’ dig

Jurgen Klopp has taken aim at talkSPORT pundit Gabby Agbonlahor for his brutal assessment of Manchester United’s 4-0 thrashing at Brentford.

The Red Devils made it two defeats from two to start the new Premier League season last weekend as they conceded four first-half goals en route to defeat in west London.

United’s performance prompted former Aston Villa forward Agbonlahor to describe them as “a shambles club” and “like strangers on the pitch” while discussing the game on national radio.

But Klopp believes that assessment, which he listened to after watching the game at Liverpool’s training ground, was grossly unfair.

He said: “For United it is clear, you all played your part and it was not a nice week after the Brentford game.

“We forget in these moments how good Brentford is, to be honest. I watched the first half here and then drove home and listened to talkSPORT and Gabby Agbonlahor...

“He lost against us 6-0 in the first year and I could not remember him as a mentality monster.

“What he said about United in that show, I was close to calling in and telling him that he has forgotten completely that he was a player. It was unbelievable.

“If ex-players go like this...”

Having seen his team lose 4-0 to Manchester United in a pre-season friendly only last month, Klopp is fully aware of the quality at Erik Ten Hag’s disposal.

And he knows the Reds are up for a tough test when they head to Old Trafford aiming for their first win of the new campaign.

He added: “It is obvious he wants to play from the back. When we played them in pre-season, you could see and feel the high press idea.

“We were, for sure, not ready for that game in pre-season, I’m not sure if the players arrived three days before the game but that’s how how it is.

“We made some mistakes but they used them really well. The individual quality of United up front is ridiculous.

“Martial can play against us probably, another boy with technique and speed. Football quality in midfield whoever lines up, it could be Eriksen, Fernandes, Donny Van de Beek, Fred - Gabby doesn’t like him but I think he is a really good player - and McTominay so there is quality there.

“We played one or two games in the league, we saw them and we have to try and figure out if he will change and what he will change.”