By Mark Finlay
Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal has said that he is ready for the powder keg atmosphere at Old Trafford as the Red Devils take on their fiercest opponent Liverpool on Sunday.
The bitter rival showdown will be van Gaal’s first taste of the bitter rivalry between the two clubs, but having guided Barcelona to victory over Real Madrid while managing in Spain he is sure he will be able to handle Sundays match equally as well telling the Daily Star:
“I have to beat Liverpool as a manager of Manchester United. It is like that, of course,” he said.
“But Barcelona versus Real Madrid was in front of 102,000 fans. The Nou Camp was adapted to 102,000 and they were sitting there and I won my first game against Real 3-0 and I was very pleased.”
United will be out looking for revenge after losing both games to Liverpool last season that included a 3-0 loss at home just weeks before the sacking of then manager David Moyes.
Nine months on and the tables have turned with now Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers being the one who is worried about getting the sack following a dismal start to the season by Liverpool.
United are the hot-favourites in this matchup and van Gaal knows that a defeat is unthinkable after the Red Devils last five wins in a row.
Van Gaal also took the opportunity to have a swipe at cross town rivals Manchester City following the opening of their £200m, state-of-the-art training campus saying: “The building and accommodation is not so important.
“The philosophy and staff are – and then of course you have to work with the talents.
“I don’t have time to compare talents and staff with each other, but when I see what we have I know I am very happy.”
