Jose Mourinho has stoked the fires ahead of Manchester United v Liverpool by oddly claiming that this week’s EFL Cup semi-final first-leg with Hull is a more important fixture.
Both ourselves and United have smaller Premier League opposition in the semi-finals, meaning a blockbuster Wembley final in February is a strong, exciting possibility.
Perhaps this is why the controversial Portuguese thinks Hull’s visit to Old Trafford is bigger game than our Premier League clash on Sunday.
When asked which game was bigger, Mourinho replied: “Hull.”
“Hull may look at the semi-final as a big occasion. Maybe for them, they have a more important game three days later in the Premier League,” Mourinho told a press-conference, cited in the Independent.
“Liverpool is a big match for us but we want to be in the final. We will face Hull with all the power we have. The second leg is away so if we can do something in the first leg to give us an advantage, we will try that.”
We’re competing for the title, while United currently sit in sixth, so perhaps this is why silverware takes priority right now for Mourinho…
In fairness, his side is in a very good run of form and we’ll need to be at our best to get a win.
Earlier this campaign, we drew 0-0 with Mourinho’s ultra-defensive outfit at Anfield, but rest assured, Jurgen Klopp would never instruct his players to play such a stale brand of football.
We’ll play our best team against Southampton on Wednesday too, meaning neither us or United are at an advantage in terms of freshness. Hopefully, we can beat Southampton early on, without injuries, enabling Klopp a chance to rest our best players before the weekend.