Christian Eriksen had a good laugh at Jurgen Klopp’s cost following Liverpool’s FA Cup defeat to Manchester United.
A just-in-time goal from Amad Diallo allowed United to secure a 4-3 victory over their main rivals on Sunday to progress to the semi-finals of the tournament and crush Liverpool’s hopes of winning four titles.
Following the match, Klopp criticized journalist Niels Christian Frederiksen when he asked the Reds boss about his team’s lack of energy and if they had played too many games this season.
After ending the interview, Klopp made a final remark, telling Frederiksen: ‘You are obviously not in great shape and I have no nerves for you.’
Similar to many United fans, Eriksen, who came off the bench on Sunday to help his team achieve a dramatic win, enjoyed that moment.
‘I laughed a little at that,’ Eriksen told Tipsbladet.
‘I happened to meet Per Frimann, who is his colleague, on the plane on the way home. I know that Rasmus (Hojlund) has spent the whole flight home with Niels Christian (Frederiksen), so I think they’ve had some good conversations.’
Frederiksen, the journalist at the center of the controversy, has defended his line of questioning, stating that Klopp’s reaction was ‘inappropriate’.
‘He was totally out of order, because the questions weren’t that controversial,’ he told The Athletic.
‘At first, it was OK because he said it was a dumb question. Three months ago, I heard the same (sort of thing) from Pep Guardiola (Manchester City’s manager), but that was in a funny way. I thought Klopp was going along the same lines, so I took that one.
‘But then he started working himself up and there was a whole atmosphere and the interview started going to different places.’
Eriksen has started just one game for United in 2024 and has growing concerns over his lack of game time at Old Trafford.
The midfielder has discussed the issue with Erik ten Hag but says he respects the manager’s decision.
