Genk look to Man United for CL inspiration
Liverpool’s Salah fit for Genk clash, Matip, Arnold miss out
BELGIUM, Oct 22, (RTRS): Racing Genk could look to copy some of the tactics that Manchester United employed on the weekend against Liverpool when they go up against Jurgen Klopp’s team in the Champions League on Wednesday.
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The Belgian club’s coach Felice Mazzu said he had been impressed with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s approach in the 1-1 draw against the European champions at Old Trafford on Sunday.
“Manchester United played a good game against Liverpool on Sunday. Their system with five in the back worked well,” Mazzu told the prematch media conference on Tuesday ahead of Genk’s hosting of Liverpool in Group E on Wednesday.
“It was a good point for Liverpool even if Manchester United only played well in one half.” Genk might consider the same approach, he suggested. “That is an option. You will see tomorrow what choice I have made,” he told reporters.
Mazzu also suggested his approach might depend on whether Liverpool field Mohamed Salah, who did not play on Sunday.
“When Salah is not on the pitch, the movement of the strikers is a little different. I don’t know if he will be there tomorrow, if he is injured or not, but his presence makes a difference.” But with or without him, Genk’s coach said Liverpool remained formidable opponents. Asked what made the Reds so dangerous, he simply replied “Klopp” with a laugh.
“We know they score easily, they’ve got three, four strikers with a lot of speed.
“The biggest thing about them is they have lots of players with experience and maturity and a system and philosophy of a high press and wanting to be in the opponent’s half all the time. We have to play attention to this.” Genk were thrashed 6-2 by Salzburg in their opening group game last month but then held Napoli to a goalless draw at home at the start of October.
“Most important tomorrow for our team is believing we can achieve a good result,” Mazzu said. “We did that against Napoli and that will also have to be against Liverpool. The will to want to play a good match must be there.
“We have made a lot of progress in recent weeks. The players understand better how I want to play. Offensive football is important, but compact defending is too.”
Meanwhile, Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah has recovered from an ankle injury and has returned to the squad for Wednesday’s Champions League match at Genk, the club said on Tuesday.
Salah has not played since injuring his ankle in a 2-1 win over Leicester City in the Premier League earlier this month. The Egyptian missed the 1-1 draw at Manchester United over the weekend, which ended the Anfield side’s 17-match winning streak in the league.
Centre back Joel Matip (sore knee) and full back Trent Alexander-Arnold (virus) did not make the trip to Belgium with defenders Dejan Lovren and Joe Gomez expected to replace them in the starting lineup.
Defending champions Liverpool have three points after two games and are a point behind Group E leaders Napoli while Belgian champions Genk are bottom with one point.
Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino has conceded he could be out of a job if results do not improve but said he tries not to pay too much attention to speculation over his future.
Spurs have made a poor start to the season with three wins in nine Premier League games so far and head into Tuesday’s Champions League match against Red Star Belgrade at the bottom of Group B.
Tottenham began their European campaign with a draw at Olympiacos before being comprehensively beaten 7-2 in London by Bayern Munich. They were also held to a 1-1 draw by bottom-of-the-table Watford in the Premier League at the weekend.